Ariel Levy (1) (1974–)

This memoir is deeply personal as Ariel Levy traces her relationship with the woman she married and her deep desire to be a mother - both of which imploded in quick succession. A successful writer for the New Yorker, Ariel traveled the world in pursuit of her journalism and put off motherhood until her late thirties. Then, her pregnancy ended dramatically while on a trip to Mongolia, an event that opened a deep emotional wound. A touching and heartbreaking read and one that I wish I could hand to several people in my life.… (more)

There are a lot of valid criticisms of this book, but Levy is such a good writer. Even with its flaws, I found this to be totally worth my time. Read it for the great writing. Read it because it's honest.

In case you're curious, I think valid criticisms are:

1. It's extremely sad. This is not a feel-good memoir. It's a feel-bad memoir.
2. If it irritates you to have to think about the plight of a privileged white woman, this will surely irritate you.
3. There are no profound revelations in this book. It's extremely obvious that we don't all get to have perfect lives. That bad things happen. That we do not have total control over our lives. Like, duh.

But I'll say it again: she's such a good writer.
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