A friend of mine told me about My Miserable, Lonely, Lesbian Pregnancy – she is friends with the author, Andrea Askowitz – and asked me a few months ago if I’d like to review it. I finally picked it up, and finished it yesterday. The title is rather self-explanatory – it’s a chronicle of a single, lesbian thirtysomething’s quest to get pregnant and her susbsequent pregnancy and delivery.
I enjoyed this book. There are definitely some parts I didn’t love – the author is very self-absorbed (which actually becomes a theme of the book), and her constant regrets over ending her relationship with her ex-girlfriend Kate get frustrating after a while. (If she’s that in love with her and misses her that much, why does she repeatedly break things off with her?). But despite those drawbacks, I did enjoy this book. I’ve read pregnancy chronicles before (my favorite being Suzanne Finnamore’s The Zygote Chronicles) but never from a lesbian perspective.
Askowitz is also a funny writer and a good storyteller. Rather than simply tell the story straight like a diary, she flashes back to earlier points in her life, such as the untimely death of her very close friend Robin and the beginnings of her relationship with Kate. She’s searingly honest at times, about herself and others, which as a reader I greatly appreciated. Also, I enjoyed reading about the birth of her child (I won’t give away what gender it was, since she kept it a secret during her pregnancy and the book). I had a c-section and am always a little wistful about not having delivered naturally, so it was interesting to read about her experience.
If you’re interested, Askowitz has a blog on Amazon.com. Also, for more reviews, click here and here (not so flattering).
I liked this book. Thanks, Yael, for the recommendation!