One Good Egg: An Illustrated Memoir by Suzy Becker
Review by Lauren
Source: copy from library; all opinions are my own
Official Summary: For
the first twenty-three years of her life, Suzy Becker was sure she
would have at least two babies. Then it took another fifteen years to
decide to go ahead and have just one. One Good Egg is the funny,
warmhearted story of her journey to fertility and becoming a mom,
illustrated throughout with hundreds of her clever and charming
cartoons.
the first twenty-three years of her life, Suzy Becker was sure she
would have at least two babies. Then it took another fifteen years to
decide to go ahead and have just one. One Good Egg is the funny,
warmhearted story of her journey to fertility and becoming a mom,
illustrated throughout with hundreds of her clever and charming
cartoons.
Suzy Becker found professional success in her
twenties, and by her thirties, she decided she had everything she
needed—the home, the savings, the friends, the family, and the
gumption—to have a baby alone. At age thirty-nine, she joined the ranks
of the six million women who need medical help to conceive. In One Good
Egg, she chronicles her travels through the maze of fertility
treatments, constantly considering and reconsidering how far she was
willing to go, inwardly convinced none of it would ever work. She
learned she was pregnant on her way to tape an essay for NPR, and five
months later married her true love.
Review:
I had previously read Becker’s illustrated memoir I Had Brain Surgery,
What’s Your Excuse? and really fell in love with her style. One Good
Egg’s events take place after the previous title, so I was excited to
come across the book at my local library. Instead of being in the
biography section, it was shelved within non-fiction pregnancy titles.
You just never know where to look sometimes!
I had previously read Becker’s illustrated memoir I Had Brain Surgery,
What’s Your Excuse? and really fell in love with her style. One Good
Egg’s events take place after the previous title, so I was excited to
come across the book at my local library. Instead of being in the
biography section, it was shelved within non-fiction pregnancy titles.
You just never know where to look sometimes!
 |
| sample page – source |
One
Good Egg is the story of Becker’s journey to get pregnant. She starts
off wanting to have a baby alone, but then she ends up marrying one of
her best friends (who had an older son of her own). Newly married, the
two of them continue on this baby path together through all the
disappointments, excitements, and more.
Good Egg is the story of Becker’s journey to get pregnant. She starts
off wanting to have a baby alone, but then she ends up marrying one of
her best friends (who had an older son of her own). Newly married, the
two of them continue on this baby path together through all the
disappointments, excitements, and more.
The
title comes from something Becker hears a lot on her journey – “you
only need one good egg” to get pregnant. Eventually, she does get
pregnant, but it really is about the struggle to get there and all the
delights and worries that come along with that. I ‘m not a mom myself,
but I know a lot of people that are, and I know that sometimes it’s not
easy to get pregnant. It was interesting to go along on Becker’s journal
and I love that she illustrates her memoirs. It just adds a lot of
personality to an already sincere memoir.
title comes from something Becker hears a lot on her journey – “you
only need one good egg” to get pregnant. Eventually, she does get
pregnant, but it really is about the struggle to get there and all the
delights and worries that come along with that. I ‘m not a mom myself,
but I know a lot of people that are, and I know that sometimes it’s not
easy to get pregnant. It was interesting to go along on Becker’s journal
and I love that she illustrates her memoirs. It just adds a lot of
personality to an already sincere memoir.
Ohh, I love the sound of this! I think I'd find it eye-opening in so many ways, especially as someone who got pregnant literally on the first try. I admire people who are brave enough to go into this battle. Thanks for bringing this to my attention.
I can so relate to this book, as I think quite a few other people out there that struggled with this. I'm so glad you read and like this, it sounds wonderful!
I'm in the process of trying for a family now, so I can really relate to her struggle and wanting a child of her own. I think with these semi authobiographies, it helps if you can relate to the author and when it comes to anything where the author is writing about that personal struggle, always makes for an emotional read. I might check this one out Lauren, thanks for the wonderful review <3
I struggled awhile before getting pregnant. Luckily I didn't have to go through treatment, but I know I could relate a bit to this book. Sounds like an interesting read. I remember thinking once you got pregnant and it was healthy, then it was all downhill, no worries. Wrong, you never stop worrying.
I love finding gems like this in the most unexpected places. I know a lot of people who struggle with infertility so I know this will be a big help. Brilly review!
I love the idea of illustrated memoirs!
I think this sounds like a wonderful book all about struggles and excitement in real life. I love to read books like this! Thanks so much for telling me about it!
Rebecca
http://www.winnipegstyle.ca
It's not something I would usually read but the topic is really interesting and it's great that the author had such a writing style.
Sounds like an inspirational read.
Loving books placed in obscure places even if it can be frustrating when a title isn't where you'd expect it to be.
I can only imagine how incredibly difficult it must have been to have gone through the ups and downs of infertility, but the fact that Becker drew inspiration from those trials to pen an amusing and inspirational book makes it all worth it. Wouldn't you agree? 🙂
This is such an important issue to write about, I know many have infertility issues
This sounds so good, and I know many folks struggle. We have friends trying everything under the sun.
Haha, yeah, you really don't know where things pop up. I'm not a mum either, but pretty much all my cousins are, apart from Amber, and one of my cousins had a hard time getting pregnant the second time, and she lost a few, so yeah, it can be tough, and it must have been hard for her to write about.