Ain’t That A Mother by Adiba Nelson Published by Blackstone Publishing on May 3, 2022
Genres: Biography & Autobiography / General, Biography & Autobiography / Personal Memoirs, Biography & Autobiography / Women, Family & Relationships / Children with Special Needs, Family & Relationships / Family Relationships, Family & Relationships / General, Family & Relationships / Parenting / Motherhood, Family & Relationships / Parenting / Single Parent
Pages: 240
Format: ARC, Audiobook
Source: NetGalley
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From pasties to postpartum and everything in between
No one said motherhood would be easy. For Adiba Nelson, the journey to parenthood started with a big bang and continues with a breakdown (or two) and several “why?” questions for God.
Witty and bold, Afro-Latina Adiba grew up in survival mode. Her sometimes complicated relationship with her strong-willed, vibrant, religious mother marked her views of mothering and love. When a chance encounter with a tall-ish, brown-skinned brotha at Ruby Tuesday’s right before closing time collided with a Jill Scott song and the right time of the month, Adiba found herself unexpectedly pregnant. She also found herself unexpectedly falling into the same relationship patterns of the matriarchs before her—the ones she swore she’d never end up in.
Mom to a new baby with high medical needs and with a slew of hardships that just won’t quit, she set out on a reckoning that was just as generational as it was personal. Along the way, Adiba never loses her heart or her humor. This is a true love story, but the kind about a woman loving herself enough to change the course of her life for herself, her child, and the women after her as well as before. From pasties to postpartum depression, Ain’t That A Mother is not your average motherhood memoir—and Adiba is not your average mother.
The in-between moments and the self-revelations are where this bold and brilliant story of love, family secrets, and lots of “what the...?” really shines. Just like parenting, the story is messy, but the reward is incredibly satisfying.
Adiba Nelson is going to take you for a ride with this book, Ain’t That a Mother! I was initially attracted to it because it looked like a book about motherhood and I don’t see too many of those with Black women on the cover. The subtitle, Postpartum, Palsy and Everything in Between also caught my attention. As a Black mother, you don’t often get to see other Black women’s stories about their postpartum experience in print.
Get the Audiobook
I listened to this book on audiobook. The author narrates it herself and I believe that just added to my enjoyment of the story. This woman has led a very colorful life when it comes to the story of her motherhood. Oh yeah and her language is mighty colorful too! Just warning you if you didn’t pick that up from the title.
Great Storytelling
I loved her style of storytelling! I actually don’t read too many memoirs, but between her narration and the way she wrote the book, she had me hooked the entire time. Her tales of how she met the father of her child, who was also married but she didn’t know because he lied to her about it multiple times is just the start. She describes how she discovered her child was special needs, her own postpartum issues and how she made it out of the relationship with her daughter’s father.
Interesting Counterarguments
She also has an interesting way of address counter arguments to her statements that she anticipates her readers will have with regards to the choice she makes. I appreciated her reasoning and justification when she did that, because even I got caught being a little judgy at certain moments.
Check out my reaction while I was reading Ain’t That a Mother: Friday Night Highlights: Spooky Season Prep & A Mama Memoir
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