Look How Happy I'm Making You

Stories

By: Polly Rosenwaike

Narrated by: Various

Length: 7 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

"A beautifully written and beautifully conceived series of stories about, well, conception.... Among the thousands of books for prospective and new parents, I doubt any will make you feel more understood and less alone than this one." (Anthony Doerr, author of All the Light We Cannot See)

A candid, ultimately buoyant debut story collection about the realities of the "baby years", whether you're having one or not.

The women in Polly Rosenwaike's Look How Happy I'm Making You want to be mothers, or aren't sure they want to be mothers, or - having recently given birth - are overwhelmed by what they've wrought. Sharp and unsettling, wry and moving in its depiction of love, friendship, and family, this collection expands the conversation about what having a baby looks like.

One woman struggling with infertility deals with the news that her sister is pregnant. Another woman nervous about her biological clock "forgets" to take her birth control while dating a younger man and must confront the possibility of becoming a single parent. Four motherless women who meet in a bar every Mother's Day contend with their losses and what it would mean to have a child.

Witty, empathetic, and precisely observed, Look How Happy I'm Making You offers the rare, honest portrayal of pregnancy and new motherhood in a culture obsessed with women's most intimate choices.

Stories:

• “Grow Your Eyelashes” read by Rebecca Lowman
• “Field Notes” read by Julia Whelan
• “Period, Ellipsis, Full Stop” read by Karissa Vacker
• “White Carnations” read by Julia Whelan
• “Tanglewood” read by Amanda Carlin
• “June” read by Tara Sands
• “The Dissembler’s Guide to Pregnancy” read by Karissa Vacker
• “Ten Warning Signs of Postpartum Depression” read by Rebecca Lowman
• “Welcome to Your Family” read by Cassandra Campbell
• “A Lady Who Takes Jokes” read by Tara Sands
• “Love Bug, Sweetie Dear, Pumpkin Pie, Etc.” read by Amanda Carlin
• “Parental Fade” read by Cassandra Campbell

Cover art: © 2019 Alex Katz / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY

©2019 Polly Rosenwaike (P)2019 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"Nearly every imaginable experience related to reproduction and new parenthood are the territory of this incisive story collection. Armed with wit, tenderness and candor, Rosenwaike helps obliterate any taboos that may still exist surrounding the tribulations of women’s reproductive lives.” (People, Book of the Week)

"With incisive pluck, Rosenwaike’s stories turn an empathetic and humorous eye on the time in women’s lives when the question of motherhood - whether gained or lost or desired at all - is central. Rosenwaike fearlessly plumbs the depths of women’s interior lives, giving due space to their complexity, gravity, and lightness.” (Danielle Lazarin, author of Back Talk)

"Each contained narrative offers a candid look into one of the most intimate choices a woman can make with humor and heart.” (Glamour)

Didn’t make me happy

Well written and food for thought but a little self actualized for my liking. Kind of a downer.

Reflections on motherhood

As with all short story collections, there will be some that I enjoyed and others that were not so compelling. There is the underlying theme of motherhood, in many different forms, connecting these stories. The narrators were all excellent.