All posts tagged: pregnancy

Sally Hepworth on her fabulous new THE GOOD SISTER, featuring twin sisters, mental health elements, a baby, and so much more, plus the books she’s raving about.

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By Leslie Lindsay  A neuro-atypical librarian decides to have a baby for her (fraternal) twin sister, but the story is so gorgeous, perceptive, and multi-faceted. The Most Anticipated Book of 2021: CNN.com • E!Online • Bustle • Goodreads • PopSugar • SheReads • Parade.com • Bookish ~WRITERS INTERVIEWING WRITERS|ALWAYS WITH A BOOK~ April Spotlight: Siblings I have been a fan of Sally Hepworth’s writing since the beginning, so when I discovered her new book, THE GOOD SISTER (St. Martin’s Press, April 13), I knew I had to get my hands on it–not only does it deal with adult fraternal twin sisters, but it also touches on mental health issues, family dysfunction, and mystery. Rose and Fern Castle are fraternal twins, and as different as night and day. Rose is the ‘responsible one,’ and rounder, called “Rosie Round,” by their mother, a nickname she detests (understandably). Rose marries, is an interior decorator. Fern, tall and willowy, slightly quirky, she hasn’t been formally diagnosed, but is likely on the spectrum, with sensory issues and an almost very literal interpretation of the world. What’s …

Wednesdays with Writers: Two Women. One Birth. ELEVEN HOURS. Pamela Erens talks about ‘helper characters,’ how the presidential election is not part of her fictive life, “emotion recollected in tranquility” & so much more.

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By Leslie Lindsay  ELEVEN HOURS is one of the most realistic and harrowing stories about labor and delivery I think you’re likely to encounter. But don’t read this book if you’re pregnant, it’s that realistic, and it’s that visceral, darkly somber, and candid. Lore Tannenbaum arrives at the hospital alone, in labor, and with very specific instructions, ones she isn’t willing to budge on; the all elusive birth plan. Her nurse, Franckline, a Haitian refugee and also pregnant and on the cusp of showing (though her husband doesn’t yet know this), is compassionate, patient, and caring–it’s what we all want in a nurse. Together, these women go through the trials and tribulations of child birth, the unsaid stories, the ones that are, as they come to terms with desire, fear, crushing losses (physical and figuratively), and the tiny, imperceptible pieces of joy they find in the crevices of each contraction, each pain of birthing a new human. Today, I welcome Pamela Erens, author of THE VIRGINS, which was named a Best Book of 2013 by …