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Half Baked: The Story of My Nerves, My Newborn, and How We Both Learned to Breathe
by
Alexa Stevenson (Goodreads Author),
Stevenson Alexa
Author Alexa Stevenson had spent most of her life preparing for the wrong disasters. When her daughter is born 15 weeks early, she is plunged into the strange half-light of the Newborn Intensive Care Unit, where she learns the Zen of medical uncertainty and makes the surprising discovery that a worst-case scenario may just be the best thing that's ever happened to her. The...more
ebook, 0 pages
Published
August 10th 2010
by Running Press Book Publishers
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Half Baked is another one of those books that needs a 1/2 star option. It wasn't quite a 4 star read for me, but didn't deserve 3 stars either. I rounded up to 4 because I'm not really a memoir person. As far as memoirs go, though, this is a pretty good one. Like all memoirs, there's just too much narcissism there. Of course, it comes with plenty of introspection. All the same, though, memoirs are not my favorite genre, so to be fair, I didn't want to shortchange Alexa Stevenson with a three sta...more
another memoir written by the parent of a NICU baby. i had no idea there were so many books like this out there! & i'd never stumbled across a single one until i had my own NICU baby (though a 32 weeks, ramona was considered merely "moderately premature").
stevenson starts her story with her struggles to conceive, which was also something i could relate to. though she finally conceived through IVF & i didn't have to go that far. she gets pregnant with twins & then suffers the nightma...more
stevenson starts her story with her struggles to conceive, which was also something i could relate to. though she finally conceived through IVF & i didn't have to go that far. she gets pregnant with twins & then suffers the nightma...more
Jan 18, 2011
Jill
added it
I kept thinking as I was reading this book...this has no relevance to my life...yet there was something that kept me coming back to it. I had a little trouble at first getting use to the writer's style. She tries too hard for humor. Once I acknowledged that to myself (about the 2nd chapter) I was able to enjoy it and just accept it as her quirky personality. I also learned something about myself. Just as she had more anxiety before she was a mother, rather than after, so did I. Not to the extent...more
I find it hard to rate books sometimes. Books earn stars because they are really well written, or moving, or entertaining, or have meaning to you personally. Sometimes one of those reasons affects your rating.
I didn't know what to expect from this book and had it for a while before reading even though I had a preemie myself. I was glad when I finally did pick it up. Alexa somehow manages to make a frightening and sad experience hilarious! I totally got her humor. Maybe if you have not spent time...more
I didn't know what to expect from this book and had it for a while before reading even though I had a preemie myself. I was glad when I finally did pick it up. Alexa somehow manages to make a frightening and sad experience hilarious! I totally got her humor. Maybe if you have not spent time...more
I have been a regular follower (a lurker, to be honest) on Alexa's blog since before her daughter was born. I've always loved her writing style on the blog so I eagerly anticipated this book. I hoped it would have more new material--it felt like there was little that hadn't been covered on the blog--but I would still highly recommend this book, especially to those not already familiar with Alexa and Simone's story. She's an engaging writer,and the memoir manages to make a very scary/sad situatio...more
I'm not sure I can analyze why I didn't enjoy this book, but I didn't much like it. There were parts that I read with gusto, but equally well there were parts that I yawned through, or skimmed. It's a memoir of a woman who gave birth to a baby at 25 weeks gestational age, a micro-preemie as they're called. But she doesn't give birth until page 100; up until then, she talks about IVF in excruciating detail, and sets the stage for her crisis -- not the medical crisis, although there's that, too, b...more
I discovered Alexa's blog when she was half-way through the pregnancy that she describes in this book; a pregnancy that with extreme understatement I can call unbelievably harrowing. This memoir fascinates with incident but succeeds because of authorial voice: she writes honestly and strikingly about anger, anxiety, sorrow, and profound depths of grief. It is also one of the most successful blog to book transitions I have read, probably because the experience of keeping the blog becomes one of t...more
I began reading Alexa's blog just before she brought her preemie from the NICU. I was immediately taken by her mix of deep-hearted vulnerability and irreverent humor. Plus this girl can turn a phrase like a dreidel. (Favorite example, which also illustrates the "irreverent humor" thing: She describes a particular medical device used on her baby as "like something thought up by the Marquis de Sade's less conventional cousin, the one the Marquis never invited to Christmas Dinner because he was int...more
I always like when a particularly good writer or journalist turns her pen to an important event or issue in her own life. This book is surprisingly funny, given that it deals with miscarriage, a stillborn, and an extremely premature birth. I appreciate that Stevenson is unafraid of using humor during such a tumultuous time (though I wouldn't have been surprised if I had been reading her blog, as her black humor is one of her signatures). I also felt like she's a kindred spirit in worry. I would...more
As a mom of micropreemies myself, this was a tough read for me. I kept the book in the bathroom and read it one paragraph at a time. Took me six months to finish it (which, come to think of it, is exactly as long as my pregnancy was). I liked Alexa Stevenson's stream of consciousness kind of manner and really enjoyed her sense of humor. But the subject matter was hard to read about (for me--too many memories).
Micropreemies = sad.
I thought the Epilogue was brilliant, though. That's where she addr...more
Micropreemies = sad.
I thought the Epilogue was brilliant, though. That's where she addr...more
So good. Pregnant with twins, loses one, has another at 25 weeks. 3 month stay in the NICU. Funny and heartbreaking and completely honest about everything.
She's a terrific writer, who often can put a funny twist (usually a metaphor) in the most unexpected, dark places. I appreciate that kind of humor. When she compared her memory to what she'd written in her blog, that pulled me out of the narrative, and I kept wishing she had just stuck with her memory and not kept referring to what she'd written in the blog. But on the whole, I enjoyed this memoir a lot, not just for the parts about infertility treatments (a pool I've tipped my toe into), but fo...more
Alexa was kind enough to donate a copy of her book to our NICU's family resource library, and I have spent the past two days hoarding it so I could read it before releasing it to the masses. As a NICU nurse, I so appreciate reading accounts like these of what a family goes through when their baby is in the NICU. It reminds me how it is about so much more than my ability to put in an IV or maintain an oxygen saturation. NICU nursing has to be personal, and Simone's story is a great reminder of th...more
I didn't love the writer's style, and to agree with another reviewer here, I thought she tried wayyyyy too hard to be funny. There is enough humor to be found in what she decided to write about surrounding a sad situation. I also hated the epilogue that stated she picked every work purposely for its meaning--it was like reading a thesaurus. Memoirs are one of my favorite types of books, and they're hard to do well. I couldn't do it! But they should be told like a story, not try to make the reade...more
I received a copy of this book from Amazon Vine just as I was completing my own "trainwreck" pregnancy and starting our time in the NICU. This book is funny, sad, engaging, and eloquently written but above and beyond all of that it is TRUE. Not just in the sense that it is based on a true story from the author's life, but in the sense that it has insight and resonance far beyond the experiences of one person and one life. I absolutely recommend it, even if you normally hate "mommy blogs" and "mo...more
Thoroughly enjoyed this, as I have enjoyed the author's blog for years. I put off reading this while I was pregnant, and while my daughter was tiny and vulnerable, because I thought the subject matter (troubled pregnancy, stillbirth, preemies) would terrify me - but I don't think I should have worried. Stevenson's wit and humor temper the subject matter. Also, I have a special place in my heart for her writing style, though Strunk and White might call it flowery. I mean honestly, who hates flowe...more
Ah, there's nothing I love more than a funny memoir about something scary. This author has a great, dark sense of humor that helped keep her sane after grueling fertility treatments, the death of one twin in the womb, and the premature birth of the other. As a compulsive worrier, I was especially interested to see how her day-to-day fearfulness sort of evaporated in the face of Keeping Her Baby Alive, Damn It. (Also: lots of groovy scientific stuff about neonatology.) I hope she writes another b...more
This was excellent.
As the book begins, Alexa Stevenson is your average, slightly-neurotic, married American 20-something trying to get (and stay) pregnant. Anxiety drives her to do deep research, learning more about reproduction than most of her specialists, and by the time she finally learns she's carrying twins she figures she knows all the possible risks. At 19 weeks, the odds of having a couple of healthy babies are in her favor. And then things start to go wrong, and she finds out that no m...more
As the book begins, Alexa Stevenson is your average, slightly-neurotic, married American 20-something trying to get (and stay) pregnant. Anxiety drives her to do deep research, learning more about reproduction than most of her specialists, and by the time she finally learns she's carrying twins she figures she knows all the possible risks. At 19 weeks, the odds of having a couple of healthy babies are in her favor. And then things start to go wrong, and she finds out that no m...more
This is a humorous memoir of the interuterine death of one of the author's twins and extremely premature birth of the other twin, along with the author's extreme anxiety. It's like David Sedaris meets RESOLVE. Despite the big differences between her experience in the NICU and ours, and her experience of infertility and miscarriage and ours, I recognized a lot of the settings and emotions.
It doesn't sound like a hilarious topic - but the book is very, very funny as well as occasionally profound....more
It doesn't sound like a hilarious topic - but the book is very, very funny as well as occasionally profound....more
I found this book in the break room at work with a note from Jenny-"loved this book". This is a story about one women's journey from infertility (I have new respect for all you girls who have done this) through birth and the NICU. It is interesting to note the differences in our NICU and theirs. But most importantly gives you a good view of the NICU from a mother's perspective. I challenge all my NICU colleagues to read this. I am putting it back in the break room.
Mar 23, 2012
Vicki
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
memoir readers, women going through fertility issuess
Recommended to Vicki by:
advance reading copy
I wasn't sure I would be able to finish this one, as the author was pretty crazy/paranoid/high maintenance at the beginning of the book. But I could see why it was set up that way, as she went through quite a health rollercoaster wanting to have a baby. It truly was a book about how she, and her newborn, "learned to breathe." I would recommend it to someone who wants to get inside the head of a modern mom, going through fertility and childbirth issues today.
As preamble a warning: I am a big big fan of Alexa and of her blog Flotsam --by far the best mommy blog out there. So I was very much looking forward to this book yet prepared for some disappointment --I do know how the story evolves.
The first good news is that the book is mostly new material, the second is that it's as funny as her journal, while also being more serious.
That said, the book could have used some extra editing; it feels heavy especially at the beginning and end. Still a very enter...more
The first good news is that the book is mostly new material, the second is that it's as funny as her journal, while also being more serious.
That said, the book could have used some extra editing; it feels heavy especially at the beginning and end. Still a very enter...more
I'm giving it an extra star of goodness because I have fairly low hopes for blogger-turned-memoir-books - but this (and Orangette's) somehow managed to transcend that description. Like most parenting related books, you don't have to have kids (=be crazy) to get this book - but it helps. I most especially appreciated her black, prosaic sense of humor and lack of mystical wonder at fate and fortune and her complete appreciation of every day wonder.
I really enjoyed this, but I have a preemie daughter too. Our NICU roller coaster wasn't anything like what Alexa went through but you've had all those same emotions and she does a good job expressing what it's really like. Good read for a preemie momma once the initial hurt, pain and sting of the nicu has past and a good read for anyone who knows someone who has a preemie but really doesn't know what they are truly going through.
Full disclosure: I'm the mom of twins who were born at 25 weeks, one of whom was in the NICU for 105 days, one of whom was hospitalized or in a care facility for 3 years. So, I get Stevenson is headed.
This book rang true to my experiences. Much of it I could have written because there are so many similarities. Given that, though, I'm not sure as a NICU graduate I wanted to relieve it and I'm also not sure that if I hadn't been a NICU grad that I'd really get it.
There were parts, such as where sh...more
This book rang true to my experiences. Much of it I could have written because there are so many similarities. Given that, though, I'm not sure as a NICU graduate I wanted to relieve it and I'm also not sure that if I hadn't been a NICU grad that I'd really get it.
There were parts, such as where sh...more
Memoirs are inevitably about voice. For me, I liked this author's voice. While the subject matter is certainly not funny, the book captured the humor that is still present even in difficult moments. I don't think the book so much captures a universal experience as it shows how a particular personality reacts to a situation. The book definitely kept my attention.
This book is very informative and exceptionally interesting for someone who was a preemie herself once (but not a micropreemie as Simone is in this book!). I enjoyed reading about Alexa's evolution and reduction in panic attacks. One of the nice things is that since I follow her blog, I can keep reading about Simone and follow her as she grows up (so far she's doing well!) which is nice, because the book doesn't so much as end, as set up for ongoing growth.
Half Baked: The Story of My Nerves, My Newborn, and How We Both Learned to Breathe by Alexa Stevenson is a book about a couple's harrowing journey through infertility, conception, a very premature birth and all the trauma that goes with life hanging on the edge. It's an interesting book; I think the right audience would love this book. My main objection is the ending kind of dragged on and on. "Alright, already!" I felt like shouting. Otherwise, well written and a very interesting saga of a scar...more
I started reading Alexa's blog a couple of years ago when I became a mom. I loved her sense of humor and conversational writing style. Her book was written much the same way. She relayed her emotional experiences with fertility treatment, high risk pregnancy, birth and loss. She communicated the sadness of her struggle, but was also able to find the humor. This book both brought me to tears and caused me to laugh out loud.
Holy cow...I don't know how to rate this. I liked the writing style, and the story was riveting. I couldn't put it down. To some degree I assume my journey with Sophia is why I got so into this story, but it certainly helps me gain perspective and focus on the positive, and I think it would be just as powerful for anyone.
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