Waiting for Daisy: A Tale of Two Continents, Three Religions, Five Infertility Doctors, an Oscar,...
"Waiting for Daisy" is about loss, love, anger and redemption. It's about doing all the things you swore you'd never do to get something you hadn't...
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Apr 21, 2007
Jessica
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The publication I work for has recruited Peggy Orenstein as a writer, so her publishing company sent me a copy of her newest book. I didn't know much about her, other than she wrote an article for The New York Times Magazine (is it okay for little girls to loooooove princesses, pink and glitter?) that I loved.
Now I feel like I know EVERYTHING about her. This book is a memoir of Peggy Orenstein and her devoted husband trying to get pregnant. For a year....then two....then six. More...
Now I feel like I know EVERYTHING about her. This book is a memoir of Peggy Orenstein and her devoted husband trying to get pregnant. For a year....then two....then six. More...
Jun 11, 2008
Annie
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Peggy Orenstein paints herself in such a bad light in Waiting for Daisy that it’s next to impossible to sympathize with her predicament. And that’s too bad, because three miscarriages are a lot to suffer through. However, Orenstein paints her desire for a child not as a powerful emotional urge but as an accomplishment she can’t live without. She never once talks about wanting to be a mother, or even wanting to have a baby. She is singularly focused on getting pregnant and staying that way for as
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Nov 30, 2007
Lain
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I wanted to like this book more than I actually did. While Orenstein is doubtless a terrific writer, her narcissism kept me from fully sympathizing with her plight (case in point -- WHY is there not a picture of her with her little girl on the jacket cover?). As the mom of three, I never had to walk the infertility road, so I cannot identify with the lengths people go to to have of child "of their own." But to risk her marriage and her health....! The ends seemed to justify the means.
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Mar 02, 2011
Ciara
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i feel kind of bad criticizing this book because peggy orenstein's six-year battle against infertility sounds hellacious. & i actually do enjoy her writing style, for the most part. (some of the stuff about her visits to hiroshima to meet with bomb survivors seemed kind of like history & social commentary shoehorned into a book on a totally different topic. it was interesting & everything...but it should be it's own book.)
other reviewers have commented on how orenstein's quest to becom More...
other reviewers have commented on how orenstein's quest to becom More...
Jan 25, 2011
Braden
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SPOILER ALERT.
I’m pretty sure I understand the genre of memoir. I understand that it is honest and raw. When it's good, it often ain't pretty.
Full disclosure: my husband and I are considering international adoption. I suspect that’s why I reacted so negatively as a reader when Orenstein described stalling an international adoption in the most passive-aggressive way possible. (Not returning the adoption agent's calls about a particular baby, then promising to get back to More...
I’m pretty sure I understand the genre of memoir. I understand that it is honest and raw. When it's good, it often ain't pretty.
Full disclosure: my husband and I are considering international adoption. I suspect that’s why I reacted so negatively as a reader when Orenstein described stalling an international adoption in the most passive-aggressive way possible. (Not returning the adoption agent's calls about a particular baby, then promising to get back to More...
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Jun 14, 2010
Heather
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I picked up this book at an impromptu book swap my book club held a couple weeks ago, and although I don't think I'm really the author's target audience, I'm avoiding the reading of another couple books I've got around the house and this one looked like a quick read. It was, indeed, and it turned out to be much more interesting than I expected.
This book is one woman's tale of her journey from being a married woman who wanted nothing to do with the having of children, to wanting to g More...
This book is one woman's tale of her journey from being a married woman who wanted nothing to do with the having of children, to wanting to g More...
Sep 25, 2009
Christina
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I'm not sure what to say about this book. It was really interesting to read it right after reading "Finding Grace" because the two books, though about the same type of six-year struggle with infertility, had very different feels and conclusions. I was uplifted by the former and many times flabbergasted and disgusted by this one. The main difference, for me, is that the author of "Finding Grace," had an anchor of faith to rely on during her trials, while Peggy Orenstein see
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Sep 06, 2011
Jen
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I've read two Orenstein books back to back and am about to start a third. I'll start by saying this - I enjoy her writing style and she raises a lot of issues I've thought about before/should be thinking about/am interested in getting a diverse viewpoint on.
However, this book made it really hard for me to like her as a person, which I know sounds weird because it is not like I know her. But in this book she portrays herself so poorly it is hard to root for her or to even feel any le More...
However, this book made it really hard for me to like her as a person, which I know sounds weird because it is not like I know her. But in this book she portrays herself so poorly it is hard to root for her or to even feel any le More...
Sep 06, 2009
Anne
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Roughly 10 years ago, I read Peggy Orenstein's book Flux. Flux is about (among other things) the difficulties of being a profesisonal women in today's society - with all the expectations of success in the public realm equal to those of men, but still the expectations of success in the private realm, without the corresponding shift in the expectations of our male counterparts. I found the book both inspirational in all that women nowadays are able to accomplish, but also daunting in the effort it
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Feb 05, 2009
It was Peggy Orenstein's husband, documentary filmmaker Steven Okazaki, who encouraged her to write Waiting for Daisy__on one condition: she had to be brutally honest. "I couldn't let myself off the hook or make myself look better than I was or make it all OK," she admits. Reviewers praised Orenstein's willingness to put her life, in all its awkward moments and embarrassing details, under the microscope. Her self-deprecating humor and lively prose balance the anguish she describes with
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Jan 21, 2010
Monique
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Wow! Just wow! If you've been through any of the experiences Peggy Orenstein has been through (and I've been through many of them) then you should read this book. It is brutally honest (which I appreciated) and unflinching. A few of her decisions might make some cringe (but not me and I had many of the same thoughts and reactions to things) but you can't fault her for her honest portrayal of the horrible roller coaster that is infertility. Also, unless you've been in the situation, it's probably
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Sep 20, 2011
Zahwa
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“Ketika terjadi banyak kematian, tampaknya harus ada kelahiran. Kita harus melakukan sesuatu yang memperkokoh kehidupan. Aku pikir, kita harus punya anak,” kata Steven kepada istrinya, Peggy. Momen ketika ayah mertua dan teman suaminya yang meninggallah yang kemudian menjadi titik balik Peggy untuk melahirkan seorang anak. Kariernya sebagai seorang jurnalis sedang berada di puncaknya. Membuat Peggy tak terlalu merencanakan untuk mempunyai anak meski usianya sudah 35 tahun kala itu. Suaminya send
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Feb 24, 2009
indri
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Lho.. koq blum ada yang review.. padahal kan dibagi gratis ke yang ikut Jelajah Rahasia Meedee 2..
Caara menulisnya sih biasa aja (atau terjemahannya yang ga begitu bagus), tapi ceritanya menarikk sekali..
Kisah wanita ini, seorang penulis workaholic yang tiba2 ingin punya anak di umur 36 tahun, sudah mencoba berbagai macam cara, mulai dari minum pil penyubur Clomid, minum ramuan biarawati, ikut bayi tabung, dapat donor sel telur, akupuntur, bahkan adopsi anak dari Jepang.. semua More...
Caara menulisnya sih biasa aja (atau terjemahannya yang ga begitu bagus), tapi ceritanya menarikk sekali..
Kisah wanita ini, seorang penulis workaholic yang tiba2 ingin punya anak di umur 36 tahun, sudah mencoba berbagai macam cara, mulai dari minum pil penyubur Clomid, minum ramuan biarawati, ikut bayi tabung, dapat donor sel telur, akupuntur, bahkan adopsi anak dari Jepang.. semua More...
Nov 01, 2011
Elizabeth
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Peggy Orenstein and I would disagree on many, many things -- faith, abortion, the importance of religion, the concept of feminity, sexual ethics and reproductive technology, just to name a few. But what I really liked about this book is how her humanity breaks through so clearly as she describes her struggle to conceive. I think on one level, you could read this book as an orthodox Catholic and see it as confirming the wisdom of the Church's teachings on IVF and the like -- that it leads to the
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Jul 20, 2007
This is a great book for anyone trying to conceive but also for woman in general. I learned a lot reading this book and the book also taught me how crazy woman can be and how we really need to appreciate our husbands.
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Jun 22, 2010
Tristy
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Sep 16, 2009
Melissa
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As a new mother who endured a 12 year quest for a child, I was curious to read Peggy's account.
So much of her ordeal resonated with me, except for the reluctance to adopt. The self-indulgence, self-doubt, the self-loathing, the exhaustion of the pursuit of one singular goal - it's all achingly familiar.
Major points for Orenstein's humor, honesty and unique perspective. The only critism I have (and one Peggy freely admits to) is the baby-obsession she had was tiresome fo More...
So much of her ordeal resonated with me, except for the reluctance to adopt. The self-indulgence, self-doubt, the self-loathing, the exhaustion of the pursuit of one singular goal - it's all achingly familiar.
Major points for Orenstein's humor, honesty and unique perspective. The only critism I have (and one Peggy freely admits to) is the baby-obsession she had was tiresome fo More...
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Mar 17, 2009
Kdevoli
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Reading for my book club, am very much enjoying it so far. Its about a woman's struggle with infertility, but told with candor and biting humor. Its pretty suspenseful even though ultimately I know how it ends! ... Later : finished the book, it continued to enthrall to the end, but I wish (spoiler ahead!) she had discussed her pregnancy more! It seemed a little anti-climatic to finally get to that point and then breeze right past it. The book was eye-opening on the issue of infertility and the s
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Feb 07, 2012
Jenny
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This was an interesting read. Knowing people who have (or are) struggling with infertility, I wanted to read a bit more to get an insight into what they are experiencing. Peggy opens up in this book and it's raw and honest - and to be completely honest, she's a bit unlikeable. But since she's come through on the other side of it, I think she wrote the book realizing how unlikeable she was. She very unapologetically comes out and says "I was going crazy and this is why . . ." or "
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Dec 18, 2011
Ashley
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A quick read that offers a glimpse into one woman's struggle with infertility and her desire to have a baby in her late 30s. Orenstein is an author, with a couple books under her belt, who was busy living her life - spending time with her husband, traveling, establishing herself as a writer, spending time with friends, etc.
Right before the couple decided to conceive, Orenstein finds out she has breast cancer, which further delays their attempts at a child. After several miscarraiges More...
Right before the couple decided to conceive, Orenstein finds out she has breast cancer, which further delays their attempts at a child. After several miscarraiges More...
Oct 04, 2008
Tania
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Apr 11, 2008
Meg
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Polished this off in a couple of hours this afternoon. I have read Peggy Orenstein before (Flux and some of her essays) and I like her voice. In some ways her struggles with infertility and international adoption are very similar to mine, in other ways very different (no two stories are ever exactly the same). Regardless, as I approach the six-year mark of trying to become a mother and feel particularly hopeless (yet again), it is nice to read a story that reminds me (regardless of how our jo
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May 14, 2008
Heather
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In Waiting for Daisy, Peggy Orenstein writes a candid memoir about the struggle she had while trying to conceive. Peggy waited until her mid to late 30s to try to conceive a baby with her husband. While trying to get pregnant, Peggy found out she had breast cancer. Once she recovered from that, Peggy and her husband started trying to get pregnant again, only to experience one misfortune after the other in their quest to have a child. They had several miscarriages, sought advice from a varie
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Apr 03, 2008
Kathleen
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Motherhood doesn't come easy for lots of women, especially those who defer the chance to have children until later in their lives. I'm on the cusp of being diagnosed "infertile," and figuring out what path to take from there--IVF, IUI, Clomid, etc. etc., or trying more natural/alternative methods,, or accepting that I won't have biological children of my own. All of it is frightening to me. And all of it is expensive.
I appreciated this book because it offered a roadmap t More...
I appreciated this book because it offered a roadmap t More...
Feb 21, 2008
Kory
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Why does this woman bug the crap out of me? I really have no legitimate reason to hate this author like I do, but I have to say that from the early pages of the book she rubbed me the wrong way. I think that you have to make a call at some point if you are going to write a book about your struggle with infertility as to what your point is. I felt like I was reading a book written by a schizophrenic. She started the book discussing how she never really wanted children and still didn't know i
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Jan 10, 2008
Bethany
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Jun 24, 2011
Patty
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This was fine and probably would have been very good if I was in her shoes or even the age she was. I had really liked her book, Cinderella Ate My Daughter, and wanted to know more about her infertility issues. For whatever reason, possibly, my own mood, this was not the book for me.
I would recommend this to anyone who was living through this. I think Orenstein does a good job of describing a real rough patch in her life. I am sorry I was not more sympathetic.
I would recommend this to anyone who was living through this. I think Orenstein does a good job of describing a real rough patch in her life. I am sorry I was not more sympathetic.
Sep 06, 2008
B
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just read through this book in a day!
i was so excited to find a copy (looking brand new) at our tiny little library after i'd read a great review of it last year.
it's a wonderful, honest story of PO's long, emotional journey to motherhood, and a story which any woman who has encountered any of her own obstacles or delays along that journey can relate to and sympathize with.
i found myself marking passages and beautiful traditions from faiths outside my own that i'd l More...
i was so excited to find a copy (looking brand new) at our tiny little library after i'd read a great review of it last year.
it's a wonderful, honest story of PO's long, emotional journey to motherhood, and a story which any woman who has encountered any of her own obstacles or delays along that journey can relate to and sympathize with.
i found myself marking passages and beautiful traditions from faiths outside my own that i'd l More...
Jul 16, 2009
Philosophette
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For those living through infertility or trying to understand what it is to experience infertility, this book offers a glimpse inside the emotional roller coaster. Peggy Orenstein writes with startling honesty and self-insight and manages that unusual combination of humor and emotionally touching. I hope they make a movie out of this book!
Aug 20, 2009
Kasey
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I loved this book--it manages to be both deeply inward-looking and outward-looking at the same time, and while it's mostly about Peggy Orenstein's struggles with infertility, it also touches on religion, relationships of all kinds, Eastern and Western medicine, hope and lack of hope. Honest and moving and sometimes very funny.
