This book found me just as my mind was starting to tell itself postpartum wasn’t that bad and was a gut punch and a hug at the same time.

The Nursery is the most faithful (to my experience) depiction of the postpartum period that I’ve read so far. Having recently been through it, I had a hard time not projecting and comparing, down to the accordion played by the neighbor.

The stream of consciousness-esque style, the interlocking timelines and uninterrupted narration really come together to paint the picture of new motherhood, and it’s raw and nasty and scary and stained by various fluids. I didn’t know I was hungry for a book like this, for the intrusive thoughts to be staring at me from the page, to cement that I was not alone in my experience. And that it ultimately does get better.

Thank you to Oneworld Publications and NetGalley for providing this ARC.