In Body Full of Stars, author Molly Caro May writes in exhausting detail (literally) about the early days of first-time motherhood.
Her brutally honest account is both deeply personal and comfortingly universal. She doesn’t shy away from the pain—emotional, physical, cultural, generational—of what she calls her “passage into motherhood.”
In the months following her daughter’s birth, she suffered from hypothyroidism, pelvic floor dysfunction, urinary incontinence (once while dressed up and dancing at a wedding) and premenstrual dysphoric disorder—all while living with her newborn, husband, dog and her parents in tight quarters. These stressors combined to create mood swings so severe, she feared losing her beloved new family, along with her sense of self.
But good news, first-time moms (and those who are about to be): Her best, clearest, most lyrical writing practically dances off the page when she’s describing her love for her daughter.