Book Birthdays celebrate one year of a book’s life in tweets, reviews, and more. This month we’re saying Happy First Book Birthday to Knocked Down: A High-Risk Memoir (Nebraska, 2022) by Aileen Weintraub.
About the Book:
A laugh-out-loud memoir about a free-spirited, commitment-phobic Brooklyn girl who, after a whirlwind romance, finds herself living in a rickety farmhouse, pregnant, and faced with five months of doctor-prescribed bed rest because of unusually large fibroids.
Knocked Down is an emotionally charged, roller-coaster ride of survival and growth. It is a story about marriage, motherhood, and the risks we take.
A Word from the Author:
It took ten years to write Knocked Down: A High-Risk Memoir. I wrote and rewrote this book in school pickup lines, waiting for doctor appointments, and during all the in-between times. There were so many days I wanted to throw in the towel, not sure how I could be fully present for my family and also follow my dreams, but getting this book out in the world has been such an incredible and rewarding experience.
Since publication, many women have reached out to me to share their stories around difficult pregnancies, bed rest, marriage, and other personal issues. Women’s stories need to be told. We deserve to be seen and heard and taken seriously by the healthcare community who often dismiss both our physical and mental health symptoms.
Writing this book has led to so many amazing opportunities, including radio and podcast appearances, speaking engagements, and publishing articles and essays in major publications. I plan to continue writing about the issues women face and advocating for better care, while encouraging women to make their voices heard.
Reviews:
“The wisdom of this memoir is in the striving for acceptance of all life’s travails for what they are, as they come. The darkest of times may seem endless, but with humor and the love of a (quirky) family, this book shows that we can make it through.” – Literary Mama
“Love, marriage, and a harrowing pregnancy yield a haunting story of survival in this gripping account from Weintraub.” – Publisher’s Weekly
“Weintraub signals from the start that she is inviting us on an intimate, awkward, funny, and fraught journey.” – Hippocampus Magazine
“Despite the uncertain future Weintraub and her unborn child face, this mostly chronological memoir is chock-full of witty observations and humorous reflections.” – Linden Review
“If I had to pick one thing that made me continuously want to turn the page, it was Weintraub’s wicked
sense of humor.” – Brevity
“Can a high-risk pregnancy, a marriage on the rocks, financial problems, a falling-down house in the middle of stalled renovations and lingering grief for a beloved dead father add up to a riotously funny read? The answer is yes, at least when the author is the gifted humorist Aileen Weintraub. To find out more, you’ll have to read—and laugh and learn—for yourself.” – Hadassah Magazine
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