Child of Mine: Writers Talk about the First Year of Motherhhod

Anyone who has a child or is planning to have one should find of interest these 28 essays by women about their first year of motherhood. Kline (Sweetwater), a creative writing instructor at Yale, has collected short memoirs from well-known writers including Valerie Sayers and Susan Cheever, as well as contributions from first-time essayists who Klein felt had powerful stories to tell. Many of the pieces, such as Elissa Schappell's ""In Search of the Maternal Instinct,"" explore the difference between the actual experience of motherhood and the societal expectations of what women should feel. The strength of these essays lies in their honesty and their focus on a variety of experiences, which will validate many women's feelings of both joy and ambivalence in the early months of motherhood. Cathi Hanauer, for example, details the severe episodes of soreness and infection that caused her to stop breast-feeding after nine weeks, while Teri Robinson describes a year-long blissful nursing experience. (May)