Waiting for Birdy: A Year of Frantic Tedium, Neurotic Angst, and the Wild Magic of Growing a Family by Catherine Newman
Nonfiction/Memoir
2005
Finished on October 21, 2026
Rating: 4.5/5 (Very Good)
Publisher's Blurb:
To fifty thousand readers, Catherine Newman is the beloved author of Bringing Up Ben & Birdy, a weekly column on babycenter.com. Now in the delightfully candid, outlandishly funny Waiting for Birdy, Newman charts the year she anticipated the birth of her second child while also coping with the realities of raising a toddler. As she navigates life with her existentially curious and heartbreakingly sweet three-year-old, and her doozy of a pregnancy, she lends her irresistibly unique voice to the secret thoughts and fears of parents everywhere. Filled with quirky warmth and razor-sharp wit, Waiting for Birdy captures the universal wonder, terror, humor, and tenderness of raising a family.
My daughter turns forty-three in December, so I'm not exactly the target audience for this memoir, but having read (and loved) Catherine Newman's more recent works, I wanted to give Waiting for Birdy a read since I enjoy her humor so well. I was not disappointed. Newman shares her thoughts and feelings about her experiences as a soon-to-be mother of two, which had me stifling laughter as I read in bed, trying hard to not wake my husband as I snorted and chuckled with each new tale. Three-year-old Ben's questions and conversations with his mother are both sweet and hilarious. If you've read Newman's novels (We All Want Impossible Things, Sandwich and Wreck), you won't want to skip this book.
Highly recommend!
Links to my reviews:
Sandwich (5/5)
Wreck (4/5)
As a mom (now of a 26 year old) and a Catherine Newman fan, I know I'll appreciate this book. Thank you for the recommendation!
ReplyDeleteHelen, if you're a fan of Newman's books, you'll love this one!
DeleteI do think that my daughter-in-law might really appreciate this book. She has a toddler now, my first granddaughter!! YAY! I so wish I could email Nan in Maine and tell her I am a grandmother. You know how much she loved children. I told her about a book called "The Children's Blizzard". It is an excellent book but since it involved children dying in a storm, she told me she would never be able to read it. Dear Nan, I do miss her. Take care, you and your sailing hubby! xx
ReplyDeleteHi, Kay! Nice to hear from you. I'll bet your daughter-in-law would enjoy this memoir. Congrats on becoming a grandmother. It's the best! There are so many times I wish I could email/text Nan about something. I miss her dearly. And yes, she loved children. And animals. She was such a special friend.
DeleteBy the way, my husband's new book is now available for pre-ordering. I'll share a post about it shortly. Thanks for remembering him. :)
I have enjoyed all of Newman's novels, so I'm pretty sure I'd like this memoir, too!
ReplyDeleteDeb, this one was a delight! I'm a little sorry that I've mailed it off to a friend of my daughter's. It's one I might want to read again someday.
DeleteI like memoirs and you gave this such an excellent review. Have not read anything else by this author. I just finaihed a Mary Beth Keane novel, Whale Harbor,. Can't believe tomorrow is November and I am making a list of books I want to get to before the end of the year.
ReplyDelete