The Reading Room

I think that a love of writing and a love of reading go hand in hand. I love to write, but I think my love for reading far surpasses any other hobby I could come up with. I can't remember the first book I read, but I remember the first book I fell in love with: The Bridges of Madison County. I'm also pretty certain I was far too young to be reading it, but that's beside the point. Over the years, I think I've read thousands of books (I get this problem from my mother and great grandmother!), but my graduate school routine drastically got in the way of my reading regimen. So, since finishing grad school, I've been trying to catch up, and I thought I would share what I'm reading with you in this corner of my blog that I've titled "The Reading Room".

By show of hands, how many of you follow Heather B. Armstrong's blog dooce.com? Okay, I obviously can't see your hands, but thanks for playing along. Anyway, I first saw Armstrong on an episode of Oprah, and she was discussing her blog as a place for mom's to come together and discover that everything they fear they're doing wrong in parenthood is normal. I know I'm not a parent, but she also posts fun pictures and anecdotes, and she's a really great writer!

So, while I was visiting friends in Connecticut, I just happened upon Armstrong's book It Sucked and Then I Cried, and of course the title just sounded so riveting that I had to pick it up and start reading right away! The book chronicles Armstrong's pregnancy with her first child, which I have to admit, makes me never want to have children! But, I'm sure not all pregnancies are as gruesome as her's appeared to be in this blog-style account of her ups and downs. Beyond her pregnancy, the book talks about her struggle with postpartum depression. This is an interesting subject to me as I ponder children in the future. What if the baby blues attacked me as well?

I think the moral of Armstrong's book is simple: It's okay to ask for help. Although I'm not a mother (or even pregnant for that matter!), I think postpartum depression is a real thing that should be discussed openly. And, if you feel the blues coming on... ask for help! No one should feel ashamed that they've been hit with a touch of anxiety and depression. 

Beyond the somber moments of the book, this piece is laugh-out-loud funny. Armstrong's wit and humor were enough to get me through the parts where I felt like I wanted to cry for her! Overall, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who has children, is pregnant, or may be thinking about having children (somewhere in the distant future, of course!). (Just a warning though: watch out for a minimal amount of foul language, and her dislike for the Mormon religion from which she separated.)