Great with Child: Reflections On Faith, Fullness and Becoming a Mother

by Debra Rienstra

Book Overview

A personal chronicle of the journey through pregnancy, birth, and the first twelve months of motherhood. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1585421677
• ISBN13: 9781585421671
• Release Date: April 2002
• Publisher: TarcherPerigee
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 1.14 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.5" x 1.0" x 5.8"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 12 and higher

Customer Reviews

A fresh, powerful and compelling look at motherhood

"This is a fresh longing now for an experience I have lived before," writes Debra Rienstra, "First, the deep attentiveness of pregnancy, then the harrowing intensity of birth, then that surrender of the self to demands that press the boundaries of endurance and to a small person who, once here, will make any previous life seem impossibly incomplete." Great With Child: On Becoming a Mother is the true story of Rienstra's journey conceiving her third child, her pregnancy, birth, and postpartum depression. It is fresh, witty, and utterly charming. Rienstra's memoir is powerful and compelling. There were numerous passages that were just so moving, I had to underline them so I could visit them again. Here are a few of my favorites: "When marriage presses ahead past naiveté, each partner may be surprised to find that real intimacy takes work, and there will be betrayal, disappointment, and lonely journeys on the way to it." "Cycles pass, the blood comes, and each time, it tears out the footings of another possible future." (On trying to conceive) "The desire to gaze and gaze at the baby's every detail--who can resist this pleasure? For months we waited to see and hold this enigmatic creature, but now his eyelashes, his ears, his fingernails, his finely traced hairline are like smooth, intricate letters spelling out mysteries if we can read them. Genetic coding's infinite permutations, life's tenacity, the holiness of creation--these mysteries hush our distracted hearts to wonder." As a mother of three, I connected with Rienstra's experiences. I felt the same disappointment every time the appearance of my period announced that another month had passed without conception. I felt immense joy and anticipation with my third child as much as my first, just as Rienstra did. Great With Child: On Becoming a Mother is a wonderful, emotional book about motherhood in all of its weak moments, as well as its glory. by Jennifer Melville for Story Circle Book Reviews reviewing books by, for, and about women

A Wonderful Read

A friend loaned me 'Great With Child' while I was expecting my own baby. I was immediately drawn to the author's thoughtful insight and beautiful prose. Rienstra reminds you, in the midst of the nausea and exhaustion, that you are participating in the creation of new life, which is an awesome priviledge and responsibility. Parts of the book were incredibly funny, and I found myself reading bits aloud to the amusement of my husband. Many of Rienstra's observations are so incredibly poignant that I would recommend 'Great With Child' even to non-pregnant friends.

a great break from the "what to expect" reading options

This book was a gift from a dear Aunt who understood what was involved in the birth process. During my pregnancy, I struggled to keep up with the daily reminders of what could go wrong each week...this book was a great relief from an obsession with information. I now give it as a gift to others. Thanks, Andrea

Realistic yet inspiring

Debra Rienstra describes motherhood as I believe many women experience it, not as a blissed-out fulfillment of one's existential destiny as a woman, nor as an unpleasant surprise consisting of limitations and involuntary servitude. I was so gratified to discover a personal account of motherhood as institution and experience that acknowledges the messy yet exalting realities: having children makes your life a hundred times harder, but also a hundred times richer.

A different perspective

This book is highly recommended for those who want a break from "What to Expect While You are Expecting." Although I have never given birth, I gave this book to a mother-to-be friend of mine, and she raved about it. It seems to be a very thoughtful and feeling book rather than technical.I am, of course, a bit biased as I had Debra Rienstra for a literature professor in college (and I pray that she is not checking my grammar right now). What made her class so interesting and relatable is certainly reflected in this book. She is eloquent and gifted--in writing and in motherhood.