Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Great with Child: Letters to a Young Mother by Beth Ann Fennelly

This is a collection of letters written by the author to one of her old graduate students who is expecting a baby. She writes about various aspects of pregnancy, childbirth, and raising a young child. The letters are in chronological order as she sent them to her old student.

I found the letters to be thoughtful and readable. However, it was kind of weird to only read one side of the story. The voice of the graduate student is missing (her letters in response are not included although the author alludes to them and the questions that the student asks in her letters), so the conversation is one-sided and therefore, not totally satisfying. It would have been interesting to read what kinds of questions, doubts, and feelings the student was experiencing throughout her pregnancy.

I give this a so-so rating. I am planning on giving it to one of my pregnant friends this week, and I'm interested in what she thinks.

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