FOR BETTER, FOR WORSE

Rating:
Summary: Helps you to see what others have gone through.
Review: Only one of the couples in this book handled things better than my husband and I did, so that made me feel more normal. It is so difficult to juggle the love you have for this new person, all of your new responsibilities, and the relationship with your spouse. I needed to learn the day-in and day-out experiences of others and this author shares that with the reader. It is not uplifting, necessarily, but realistic. I am happy to say that we also made it through the first year and have come out stronger than I thought we would.

Rating:
Summary: Study of the effect on 5 families of pregnancy,birth &beyond
Review: The book covers the highs and lows which come with a new member of the family. My only negative comment would be that it is perhaps too realistic. It's not that the book is depressing or negative, it is simply truthful, unlike most books relating to pregnancy & parenting which I found to have a definite rosy tint. For anyone wishing to seriously consider the full impact that a baby can have on the family unit, this book gives a great deal of insight. You may not identify with any particular couple, but you will definitely recognise many of the situations which they confront and, more often than not, see your own reactions in an entirely new light. Having said this, it is a fascinating book which delves deeply into the lives of 5 very different American families, covering a wide range of socio-economic situations and showing the full journey - from attempting to conceive, right through to the first birthday.