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

Rating:
Summary: Not just a woman's book
Review: Debra is a friend and colleague of mine so I read this book with great anticipation, expecting to enjoy it but a little concerned that a book about pregnancy would not really speak to me as a man. Instead, I learned some things about being pregnant that I didn't know, depspite the fact that I have four children of my own. Debra is able to relate her feelings and thoughts in a way that helped me not only learn more about her, but also helped me learn more about me. I highly recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: Not just a woman's book
Review: Debra is a friend and colleague of mine so I read this book with great anticipation, expecting to enjoy it but a little concerned that a book about pregnancy would not really speak to me as a man. Instead, I learned some things about being pregnant that I didn't know, depspite the fact that I have four children of my own. Debra is able to relate her feelings and thoughts in a way that helped me not only learn more about her, but also helped me learn more about me. I highly recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: Realistic yet inspiring
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Thoughtful, lyrical, honest
Review: Debra Rienstra has mastered a difficult literary form. She is a terrific essayist. The individual chapters of Great With Child are not only thoughtful and occasionally profound (as I had expected), but she has also managed to engage me with her wonderful gift for writing. Each chapter, I think, stands by itself as a well-executed piece of what good writing can be. A book about pregnancy wouldn't ordinarily be my first choice for casual reading, but I'll read a book any time that's as good as this one, even if it is about pregnancy! I hope Debra writes again soon. She has a literary voice that ought to be heard again.

Rating:
Summary: Thoughtful, lyrical, honest
Review: Debra Rienstra has mastered a difficult literary form. She is a terrific essayist. The individual chapters of Great With Child are not only thoughtful and occasionally profound (as I had expected), but she has also managed to engage me with her wonderful gift for writing. Each chapter, I think, stands by itself as a well-executed piece of what good writing can be. A book about pregnancy wouldn't ordinarily be my first choice for casual reading, but I'll read a book any time that's as good as this one, even if it is about pregnancy! I hope Debra writes again soon. She has a literary voice that ought to be heard again.

Rating:
Summary: A rich tapestry of reflections for those "Great with Child."
Review: I so wish I had this book when I was pregnant! The author leads readers on pathways of longing, fulfillment, fear, and joy--all symptoms of a gestating woman's state of being. The Bible, Shakespeare, Greek Mythology and other literary works serve as Rienstra's touchstones as she deconstructs the journey to motherhood. From "trying" to conceive to the elation of reading a positive stick; from the depths of nausea and fatigue to the mountaintop of power and exhilaration, "Great with Child" travels over familiar terrain yet mines previously undetected treasures along the way. Celebratory, reflective, and gloriously true, "Great with Child" is the thinking woman's companion to pregnancy.

Rating:
Summary: A different perspective
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Wow-Great with Child
Review: What an amazing depiction of child bearing through the eyes of a experienced mother. I consider myself lucky to be exposed to the raw descriptions and realistic ponderings of this woman. I thank Rienstra for being so honest and sharing the positive and negatives of bearing a child with the reader.

Rating:
Summary: Wow-Great with Child
Review: What an amazing depiction of child bearing through the eyes of a experienced mother. I consider myself lucky to be exposed to the raw descriptions and realistic ponderings of this woman. I thank Rienstra for being so honest and sharing the positive and negatives of bearing a child with the reader.