Recommended Reading: “Bear With Me”

By: Diane Flacks
Available on amazon.ca
ISBN 0-7710-4764-9, $24.99 CDN

My sister Jose sent me this book from Ottawa. It arrived while Sean’s folks were here and Pat spent time reading parts of it, laughing, nearly crying and all the while reminiscing about her experiences of being pregnant. I found out my sister did the same thing in the bookstore before she bought it and then she took it home and read the whole thing before she sent it to me. This is by far the most frankly written and honest book I have read in quite some time. The author writes of her experiences while trying to conceive, being pregnant and going thru childbirth from a perspective few woman have ever given thought to let alone read about. She is unafraid to call the shitty stuff “shitty” and manages to keep her sense of humor through all the yucky parts. She calls her breasts “boobs” and her labia “pussy lips”. The first 3 chapters are titled…Getting Knocked Up, The First Weeks-I’m Backing Out and The First Trimester-Losing Control. One of the best parts of the book describes how the phrase “fer fuck’s sake” tacked itself on the end of every request the author made of her partner. “Do you think you could close the fridge door, fer fuck’s sake?!” Now that’s something I can relate to! This is the only pregnancy book I have read from cover to cover and although it’s not loaded with technical info this book best describes the emotional roller coaster ride aspect of being pregnant.