Ordinary Insanity

Starred review from March 1, 2020

Untold numbers of new mothers suffer from postpartum anxiety, a debilitating condition that is not only undiagnosed, but unrecognized by medical authorities, according to this explosive, keenly observed book by essayist Menkedick (Homing Instincts). Meticulously constructed, the book interweaves personal narrative and profiles of new mothers with historical research and medical reporting. Each of its seven sections pairs the experience of an individual mother and an aspect of society's and medicine's oppressive, restrictive treatment of women, particularly mothers. The topics are weighty; among them: the racialized stigmatization of midwifery; the role of white supremacy in the history of the women's rights movement; and expert-guided mothering, which controls women's behavior by imposing scientifically or quasiscientifically determined norms (this paired with the horrifying narrative of one new mother's involuntary confinement to inpatient psychiatric care). It's difficult content, lightened by Menkedick's empathy and her affirmation of a wide range of heretofore stigmatized behaviors, from rage to cosleeping. VERDICT Menkedick uses her platform to seek justice in raising awareness of the complexity and depth of motherhood along with perinatal mental health disorders, and reclaiming motherhood as a powerful state. Her compelling book deserves a wide audience, from cheering mothers to chastened experts.--Janet Ingraham Dwyer, State Lib. of Ohio, Columbus

Copyright 2020 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2020
Menkedick's first memoir, Homing Instincts: Early Motherhood on a Midwestern Farm (2017), meditated on how pregnancy and parenting shift identity. Here she offers an expose on the debilitating fear and anxiety new mothers suffer. Menkedick pairs anecdotal case studies with explorations of the psychological, neurobiological, historical, and cultural underpinnings of motherhood in the twenty-first century. The story of Samantha, for example, who was admitted to a psychiatric facility after making an appointment to discuss postpartum depression with her doctor, serves as a springboard for examining how the medical profession has pathologized and institutionalized women. More than just making the history accessible, Samantha's story is essential to Menkedick's proposal for how to combat the epidemic of fear she says defines contemporary motherhood. Women's stories, she ultimately concludes, are essential to reclaiming motherhood. Arming readers with an understanding of the underlying structures that shape private experience, Menkedick also gives real mothers space to share their own harrowing stories. This, she says, is the best weapon for fighting it.WOMEN FOCUS(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)