One Good Egg

Starred review from July 15, 2013
Like many ambitious, driven women, Becker (All I Need to Know I Learned from My Cat)âa former Clinton administration fellow, founder of AIDS fundraiser RideFAR, and creator of Widget Factory greeting cardsâput off starting a family until she was nearly 40. By the time she and her partner Lorene were "ready", Becker needed help in two forms: the first was in-vitro fertilization treatment, followed by a suitable sperm donor. In her touching and very funny illustrated memoir, Becker chronicles the relationships she had with everyone in her life during this strange and often harrowing process, and writes about the successful pregnancy and birth of her child. The first half of the book manages to humorously cover the very serious and sad realities of IVF. Even the infamous insensitivity of the fertility clinic staff became fodder for endless jokes. This book is bordering on essential for both moms-to-be with flagging fertility and for lesbian couples hoping to become parents, but is an absolutely beautiful book about love and determination that will be enjoyed by a wide variety of readers. Becker's fantastic, on-point cartoon illustrations cover all manner of observations and worries, and every woman who has ever been pregnant will relate.

April 1, 2013
Following in the tradition of James Thurber and Jules Feiffer, best-selling author/illustrator Becker (Kids Make It Better: A Write-in, Draw-in Journal, 2010, etc.) combines droll illustrations with a lively narrative style in this chronicle of the high expectations and shattering disappointments on her journey to motherhood. At age 25, the author discovered a love for cross-country biking and began her first lesbian love affair. Twenty-two years later, when her latest relationship ended on the issue of whether or not to become parents, the author decided to go it alone as a single mother. She began exploring whether two close gay male friends might consider being sperm donors. Becker describes her state of mind at the time: "I wished I was a Southern gastric brooding frog. No gastric brooding frog husband to find. No career to worry my shiny gray head. Life could be as simple as swallowing a batch of fertilized eggs and burping up some babies." Her laugh-out-loud humor permeates this account of her experiences, from finding a sperm donor to dealing with medial professionals, insurance companies and the side effects of fertility treatments. Much of the tale involves the man who ultimately became her daughter's biological father and their relationship, which would go beyond physical fatherhood to include his active if infrequent involvement with his daughter. The process was halted when she suffered epileptic seizures and needed brain surgery, an experience Becker explored in her memoir, I Had Brain Surgery, What's Your Excuse? (2003). A longtime female friend who had raised her own son as a single mother offered encouragement and practical help. During this time, their relationship deepened, leading to a same-sex marriage with two mothers, in what was to become a three-parent family. Tender and funny, this appealing modern love story is greatly enhanced by the author's drawings.

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