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Liked It “This was a good book. I dont agree with many of this womans beliefs, but I very much enjoyed being let into the intimacy of her journal. So many of her thoughts and feeling I could relate, most women can relate to. It a beautiful story of a women finding herself, not the way society tells us to...” see full review » see other reviews » |
Didn’t Like It “I had a hard time reviewing this book. I found that there were moving insights and incredible little nuggets of wisdom--in between a whole heck of a lot of narcissism and pretentiousness. I would read one page and think, "yes, yes, yes," and then turn that page and want to throw the book against...” see full review » see other reviews » |
Newest Reviews
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“This was a good book. I dont agree with many of this womans beliefs, but I very much enjoyed being let into the intimacy of her journal. So many of her thoughts and feeling I could relate, most women can relate to. It a beautiful story of a women finding herself, not the way society tells us to be, but the way our Creator made us to be! ”
Katie B wrote this review Thursday, May 29 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Rebecca Walker describes her emotional and spiritual trip into motherhood. The first line on the back of this book hooked me: "Like many women her age, 34-year-old Rebecca Walker was brought up to be skeptical of motherhood". SOLD.”
Jen M wrote this review Wednesday, April 30 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“I had a hard time reviewing this book. I found that there were moving insights and incredible little nuggets of wisdom--in between a whole heck of a lot of narcissism and pretentiousness. I would read one page and think, "yes, yes, yes," and then turn that page and want to throw the book against the wall.
Joanna C wrote this review Monday, April 14 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
I wanted to give credit where credit was due, but honestly, the parts of the book that stuck with me were, in the end, the negative parts. I couldn't get over her waxing poetic over how she would never love her formerly "adopted" son as much as her biological one. I thought that was incredibly cruel. And naive. Pregnancy and childbirth are incredible experiences. I have a child of my own, and I know of the intense and overwhelming love you feel for your own baby. It is a type of love that is unique, but even within the charmed circle that enveloped myself and my child, I knew that you can't compare it to the other loves in your life. And it is unfair to do so. In fact, I recently read that the hormonal surges that are largely responsible for those deep feelings of love and attachment between mother and child also spontaneously occur in mothers of adopted children. None of us have an exclusive right to "real love."
Also, most sadly and ironically, she seemed to be making the same mistake to which she held her own mother so accountable. Her mother was honest about the pressures of childbearing and its effect on her creative life, and according to Rebecca, this hurt, haunted and alienated her. But didn't her mother do so in the effort to be "honest" about her life and motherhood? And yet, this is the same excuse that Rebecca uses to hurt and alienate her adopted son.
In the end, I found the whole book to be incredibly sad and upsetting. I had just given birth to my daughter when I read it, and I really couldn't relate to her struggles. She would complain about not having enough money, almost as if she truly thought herself working class, and then go out on "retail therapy" binges at high-end maternity boutiques. Whereas I was worried about my grocery bill, and keeping the baby in layers of fleece so I could turn the gas heat down.
She honestly believed at one point that the Jewish side of her family would not "bond" with her son because he didn't have a Jewish name. If that was the case, either she doesn't think much of her family and believes them to be that shallow (in which case, why would it bother you if they don't bond with your son? You might be better off) or she herself is that shallow and would think herself unable to bond with a child because he didn't have the right name. Either way, it just made me mad.
I considered giving this book two stars, because in between all the narcissism, there were actually some really great insights. The problem is, I don't remember them! So I had to give it just one star, which is but a nod to those few nuggets of wisdom and turns of phrase that I respected. I just couldn't give it more, because in the end, the rest just got in the way.”
“A memoir of sorts, this book is not over-the-top fascinating, but I still couldn't stop reading it. If you've had children you already have your own experiences and stories to tell. However, if you're like me and just entering the phase in life where you're considering children, you may like to hear what Walker has to say. She chronicles her pregnancy and birth experiences in a very real way, which is probably why I didn't drop the book after the first couple entries. (It's written in journal format.) Walker's got a lot of baggage she deals with periodically throughout the text. I didn't care much for those parts, but I guess she wouldn't really have a book without them. Her life experiences are what helped mold her into herself, and she writes about them. I wouldn't necessarily recommend this title, but it was an interesting read if you find yourself pre-maternal. (Is that a word? Not so much really.)”
Librarian Jack wrote this review Tuesday, February 26 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Honestly written, beautifuly done, lets you inside that secret world of mom's in waiting. I loved it.”
hlsjellison wrote this review Sunday, April 22 2007. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Just a princess writing about her pregnancy.
Artemis_98 wrote this review Wednesday, April 4 2007. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
I had to ask, does anyone really care? (Well they must because the book was featured in the both the New York Times and the Washington Post book reviews, and there was a feature article on her and the book in the New York Times Style section, and plus I pre-ordered it from Amazon, so… .)
But interspersed with her somewhat annoying diary of her doctor’s visits, her agonizing over increasing her antidepressant dosage and her “retail therapy” excursions, are reflections on life and love and parenthood (centred around her life and her loves and her forays into parenthood) which are interesting, but more in a voyeuristic way than in any profound insightful way. She never mentions her mother or her former lover by name, but the fact that they are Alice Walker and Meshell Ndegeocello, respectively, makes for even more prurient reading. (I would have had no clue who was her unfaithful rock star partner, as Walker refers to her repeatedly in Baby Love, had the Washington Post review not stated it.)
Her description of her labour and delivery is the best part of the book. I don’t think I have ever read it quite so well told, in such vivid detail, and it is all very tastefully done.
If you think you must read this book then at least wait for the paperback version.
”
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