Review: Maternity Leave by Julie Halpern

4.5 stars for Maternity Leave by Julie Halpern.

This book is a must read for all - particularly the 21st century - mommies out there. It is a realistic, down-to-earth story which most, if not all mommies, can understand and relate to. As real as it gets, it details the start of motherhood from the onset of labor right up to raising the baby at the end of the protagonist's maternity leave. Of course, in reality, we know that there is so much more beyond the first few months of paid maternity leave, but to fit in with the timeline as dictated by the book title, that is as far as the story goes.

There are a number of things I really like about this novel.

One is the overall presentation of the story. Instead of the usual numbering of chapters in ascending order, the author chooses to present her story by the '# Days Old" of baby Samuel Schwartz-Jensen. This method of chapter differentiation is certainly brilliant; not only does it aid in easy reading and monitoring of the baby's growth and development, it acts as a countdown to the end of the maternity leave.

Two is the voice of the protagonist - Annie, a 36-year old middle school English teacher - which speaks volumes with regard to the ups and downs of motherhood. The joys versus pains, togetherness versus loneliness, courage versus fear, assurances versus doubts of a full-time stay-at-home mom are creatively yet accurately laid out by the first person narrative. To my great delight, I find them to be echoes of my own sentiments and am glad that these are proof enough that I am not the odd one out!

Three is the intermittent update of facebook status. This is so in line with the lifestyle adopted by many ever since the invention of smartphones. While stay-at-home moms with newborn babies are generally too busy and tired from lack of sleep to keep up with friends, they can still connect with people through the various modes of social media.

Four is the close-to-heart way the author puts across on the dilemma which practically all parents, especially mommies, will experience when the time to return to work is round the corner. The million dollar question is "who will look after the child?". Be it going back to work or quitting the job to be a 24/7 mom, there will always be this guilt and internal struggle within a mother for whichever decision that is made because she can never know what the other outcome will be due to the opportunity cost involved.

One thing for sure which I totally agree with the protagonist is that no mommy will want to miss out on the milestones - first words, first crawling, first steps, first on solids, etc - of her own child.

Five is the similarities of 21st century motherhood experienced in present day across space and culture. Although the story is set in the Chicago suburbs, which happily coincides with the residential area of the author and her family, the difficulties and anxieties encountered in child birth, nursing and taking care of a baby are more or less the same. Gone are the days of infant formula. Now we all know that the greatest gift a mother can bestow upon her newborn baby is the mother's milk. I love the determination and perseverance of the protagonist in advocating breastfeeding.

It is remarkable that the author can write a full-length novel with the entire time span being a woman's maternity leave, that is, twelve weeks until the end of the school year on top of the twelve weeks of summer holiday. One may ask, what more is there to looking after a newborn baby than the expected endless routine of sleep, wake and feed. Well, read Maternity Leave and you will be in for a treat.

Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
Publication date: 1 Sep 2015

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The profane, profound and just plain funny story of a professional woman who thinks she's ready for a baby but her maternity leave proves otherwise.

Thirty-six-year old Annie Schwartz-Jensen and her husband, Zach, waited to have a baby until the time was perfect. Annie got pregnant as planned, she hid her puke breath from the students in her seventh grade class, and drew up a detailed birth plan. She knew what to expect. She couldn't wait to raise her child in the most expertly precise way, using the trials and errors of all the parents who came before her in her ten years of teaching. She couldn't wait to feel the unconditional love, that moment everyone told her about, when she had a baby of her own.

"Maternity Leave" begins nine months later, as Annie gives birth to Sam, who comes out perfectly formed and screaming. After all those years of dreaming about a baby, this one is real.

And he scares the living crap out of Annie.

*Blurb from author's website*

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