1.5/5 Stars
The book is bad, like objectively so, but I can see why many people with similar backgrounds would find it a pleasant acknowledgement of their struggles with fundamental Christianity. I give it a 1.5/5, a star for gripping storytelling in the core part of the story and half a star for an interesting depiction of the harm of Christian fundamentalism on so-called "privileged communities" that should "arguably" not struggle with (but they clearly do; it's a real problem). It lost 3 stars for the postpartum glossing alone tbh (but also the dismissiveness around sexual assault). The presentation of struggling mothers is clearly calling attention to a real problem in the fundamental Christian community (and even non-fundamental if we're being honest), but the lack of any acknowledgement, even in an afterward, is unacceptable. This book would've been better as a creative non-fiction with researched critique interwoven with fictionalized experiences. By the end, I really wanted to like it. But after actually reading the end, my first thought was, "Oh yeah, a privileged white woman wrote this," which kind of defeats the point about this book being a critique of privileged white women (there's nothing wrong with privileged white women writing critiques or writing in general; the issue is how the book was advertised not matching the reading experience). In the end, because the book makes light of postpartum psychosis and depression, and I fear that rather than calling a valid critical eye to the "trad-life industry" it's instead going to further alienate women who experience postpartum psychosis, anxiety, and depression, I will not be recommending this book. It wasn't a waste of a read, but there are many other satirical social critiques that can do similar work with less dismissiveness.
by OpalJade98