It Sucked and then I Cried: How I Had a Baby, a Breakdown, and Much Needed Margarita
Heather B Armstrong
253 pages
2009, Simon Spotlight Entertainment

Heather Armstrong is best known for her blog Dooce, which is pronounced like moose, and which features daily photographs and commentary on her life.  Armstrong’s voice, on her blog and in the book, manages to be both humorous and truthful.  It Sucked and then I Cried is her memoir about her pregnancy, early months of parenthood, struggle with post-partum depression, and how, with the help of a good doctor and medication, she reclaimed her life.

As should be expected, there is a lot of similarity between her blog and her book, as she was blogging during the events the book covers.  The book focuses on her life during pregnancy and early parenthood.  Which is also to say that, while Armstrong writes openly about depresssion, the book is not a memoir of a depressive spiral.  Which is one of the things I love about Armstrong’s approach to her story.  She is saying, “Yes, I had a baby; yes, I had a breakdown.  I learned to deal with the one so I could enjoy the other.”  While mental illness can be dramatically life defining for some poeple, there are many others like Armstrong for whom it is one facet of life.  And I’m glad that this story of that reality (plus the super cute baby, dog, and love of capslock) got told.