Birth Notes: A Memoir of Trauma, Motherhood and Recovery

When a woman gives birth, she may remember violent things, ugly things, and unspoken things. Jessica Cornwell struggled to experience joy and love after her twins were born, but received a diagnosis of post-partum PTSD and began therapy. This book is a redemptive tale of the power and wisdom of women's bodies and how it can help them heal.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 448 pages
Publication date: 02 April 2023
Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group

When a woman gives birth, she may inadvertently recall violent, ugly, and unspoken events. Jessica Cornwell, after giving birth to her twins, felt numb and struggled with physical pain, the demands of caring for two babies, and the haunting memories of a traumatic birth. She was consumed by fear and plagued by recurrent thoughts of blood and danger. It wasn't until she received a diagnosis of post-partum PTSD and started therapy that Jessica could confront the secrets in her past. Through therapy, she began to understand how her experience of birth had triggered her traumatic memories of sexual assault and integrate them into her identity as a mother and a survivor. This book is a powerful and hopeful tale of the power and wisdom of women's bodies. It has received critical acclaim from authors such as Leah Hazard, Elinor Cleghorn, Susie Orbach, and Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett, who have praised it for its truth, understanding, scholarship, and hope.

Weight: 340g
Dimension: 196 x 126 x 32 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780349014272