An earnest remembrance that will be meaningful to readers undergoing similar experiences.
Personal trainer Beder Solway, the co-founder of online fitness platform ABS Fitness, presents her story of her in vitro fertilization and surrogacy journey, along with self-help practices.
Two years before writing this book, the author, an avid runner, completed the 2022 New York City Marathon at the age of 51. The race was grueling, she says, but far shorter and easier than her lengthy and often discouraging struggle to have children. Her first pregnancy in the late 1990s was difficult; she experienced shortness of breath, she says, and labial swelling that “resembled a cow’s udder.” Her baby, Hannah, was born premature but healthy. However, after the author was diagnosed with a genetic condition that overtaxes the heart, she was warned not to have more kids. Unwilling to give up her dream of a large biological family, she turned to a procedure that involved implanting an embryo into a surrogate mother. After painful fertility treatments and repeated failures, Beder Solway and her husband left their Canadian home for a New Jersey fertility clinic. They discovered that one potential surrogate mother had a history of drug addiction, but a perfect match later materialized. Beder Solway frequently compares her quest to long-distance running; both require patience and preparation, she says, and in both cases, she experienced a feeling of “hitting the wall” but pushed on. The book cleverly contains the same number of chapters as miles in a marathon (26.2, before a brief, bonus 27th chapter); at the end of each, she asks philosophical questions that aim to foster self-examination. Some readers may wonder why the author felt it necessary having children through IVF, particularly when she already had a biological child, and she addresses this in the text, and many will find her perseverance to be admirable. Also, the passages in which she expresses her love for her long-awaited offspring are clearly heartfelt; at one point, for instance, she lyrically writes of touching her son Aidan’s fingers: “Each contour of his skin felt like a love letter written in Braille.”
An earnest remembrance that will be meaningful to readers undergoing similar experiences.Pub Date: Nov. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781998454228
Page Count: 236
Publisher: Tellwell Talent
Review Posted Online: Sept. 24, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A blissfully vicarious, heartfelt glimpse into the life of a Manhattan burlesque dancer.
A former New York City dancer reflects on her zesty heyday in the 1970s.
Discovered on a Manhattan street in 2020 and introduced on Stanton’s Humans of New York Instagram page, Johnson, then 76, shares her dynamic history as a “fiercely independent” Black burlesque dancer who used the stage name Tanqueray and became a celebrated fixture in midtown adult theaters. “I was the only black girl making white girl money,” she boasts, telling a vibrant story about sex and struggle in a bygone era. Frank and unapologetic, Johnson vividly captures aspects of her former life as a stage seductress shimmying to blues tracks during 18-minute sets or sewing lingerie for plus-sized dancers. Though her work was far from the Broadway shows she dreamed about, it eventually became all about the nightly hustle to simply survive. Her anecdotes are humorous, heartfelt, and supremely captivating, recounted with the passion of a true survivor and the acerbic wit of a weathered, street-wise New Yorker. She shares stories of growing up in an abusive household in Albany in the 1940s, a teenage pregnancy, and prison time for robbery as nonchalantly as she recalls selling rhinestone G-strings to prostitutes to make them sparkle in the headlights of passing cars. Complemented by an array of revealing personal photographs, the narrative alternates between heartfelt nostalgia about the seedier side of Manhattan’s go-go scene and funny quips about her unconventional stage performances. Encounters with a variety of hardworking dancers, drag queens, and pimps, plus an account of the complexities of a first love with a drug-addled hustler, fill out the memoir with personality and candor. With a narrative assist from Stanton, the result is a consistently titillating and often moving story of human struggle as well as an insider glimpse into the days when Times Square was considered the Big Apple’s gloriously unpolished underbelly. The book also includes Yee’s lush watercolor illustrations.
A blissfully vicarious, heartfelt glimpse into the life of a Manhattan burlesque dancer.Pub Date: July 12, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-250-27827-2
Page Count: 192
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2022
A slick, vacuous glimpse into the former first lady’s White House years.
A carefully curated personal portrait.
First ladies’ roles have evolved significantly in recent decades. Their memoirs typically reflect a spectrum of ambition and interests, offering insights into their values and personal lives. Melania Trump, however, stands out as exceptionally private and elusive. Her ultra-lean account attempts to shed light on her public duties, initiatives, and causes as first lady, and it defends certain actions like her controversial “I REALLY DON’T CARE, DO U?” jacket. The statement was directed at the media, not the border situation, she claims. Yet the book provides scant detail about her personal orbit or day-to-day interactions. The memoir opens with her well-known Slovenian origin story, successful modeling career, and whirlwind romance with Donald Trump, culminating in their 2005 marriage, followed by a snapshot of Election Day 2016: “Each time we were together that day, I was impressed by his calm.…This man is remarkably confident under pressure.” Once in the White House, Melania Trump describes her functions and numerous public events at home and abroad, which she asserts were more accomplished than media representations suggested. However, she rarely shares any personal interactions beyond close family ties, notably her affection for her son, Barron, and her sister, Ines. And of course she lavishes praise on her husband. Minimal anecdotes about White House or cabinet staff are included, and she carefully defuses her rumored tensions with Trump’s adult children, blandly stating, “While we may share the same last name, each of us is distinct with our own aspirations and paths to follow.” Although Melania’s desire to support causes related to children’s and women’s welfare feels authentic, the overall tenor of her memoir seems aimed at painting a glimmering portrait of her husband and her role, likely with an eye toward the forthcoming election.
A slick, vacuous glimpse into the former first lady’s White House years.Pub Date: Oct. 8, 2024
ISBN: 9781510782693
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing
Review Posted Online: Oct. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2024
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