Bittersweet Blessing: 16 & Pregnant

by Ashley Salazar

When high-school junior Ashley Salazar learned she was pregnant, she immediately started a blog to document the difficult, life-altering experience. Little did she know how life-altering it would actually be. Later, she applied online to be considered for the cast of MTV’s hit show 16 & Pregnant . The show responded quickly and her story will be told as the season 2 finale in a special 90-minute episode aired in December 2010. Her memoir takes the viewer further back and further forward, and chronicles the tortured indecision she faces as she decides whether its best for her baby to give her up for adoption or take the dramatic step toward motherhood.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir

224 pages, Hardcover

First published September 13, 2011

Reviews

[Jillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. I felt like Ashley was open and honest, but she didn't go on and on and on about things. What a brave thing she did by putting her life on display. Surely her story will touch other teen moms. She did a noble thing and I hope she's truly at peace with her selfless decision. This book was a million times better than Farrah's.

[Faith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Saw this unfold on 16 and pregnant and was so sadden by what Ashley was going through and what hard choices she had to make at such a young age. The book covers more that all the film couldn't and how Ashley dealt with things, throughout her whole pregnancy.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I may have seen maybe 1 or 2 episodes of this show, if that, but the book sounded interesting and was the right price. Should be required reading for teen girls, but probably won't be, since it wound up at Dollar Tree. Very real.

[Flor Plache · Rating 3 out of 5]

Teen mom/16 and pregnant is my guilty pleasure 😂😂🤷🏻‍♀️ I stared watching it as a teen while pregnant with my first child,I remember being pregnant and seeing Ashley’s episode air,it was heart breaking,it has been almost 8 years since I saw her episode and I remember a lot of the story but not All the details so I think the book did a good job in filling in those parts the show missed.It was a fast and easy read.The book was good and even tho some of her choices made me a little upset and how she handled them,I can’t count that on my rating because that is her experience and she is entitled to those feelings.over all the book was a good book especially if you are a fan of the show.

[Rachael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very Quick easy read. The pictures are big and so are the words. Not the best writing in the world, but it conveys Ashley's true feelings about giving her daughter up for adoption.

[Shoshanah · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you know me well, or honestly even not so well, you’d know I have a mild obsession with reality tv. One of my favorites is the Teen Mom/16 and Pregnant franchise. I’ve been watching since the beginning.

Going back to season 3 (technically 2b), I was especially moved by Ashley Salazar’s story. She made the decision to place her daughter for adoption, the. changed her mind and brought the baby home to parent, then changed her mind again. It’s one that stayed with me, so much that all these years later, I’m reading her memoir Bittersweet Blessing.

Interestingly Ashley was actually the first of all the girls from the show to publish a memoir. And I believe the only one whose was published by MTV itself and included the show logo on the cover.

After the show aired I started reading her blog (after she moved from blogging on MySpace which makes you realize how long ago this show was on). I remember being horrified by some of the comments she received. Just so much hate that she placed her daughter for adoption, how she was selfish for not parenting, just such mean things. Especially when to me, it seemed like the did wind up making the best decision she could make at the time.

As for the book itself, there wasn’t that much new that I didn’t recall from her episode and reading her blog all those years ago. But it was such a blast from the past to read it all! I realize at this point I’m one of the only people you’ll seeing reading this or have any idea who Ashley Salazar is, but I’m so glad I finally read it a decade later.

4.5/5

[Manda Marigold · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 stars. This book follows Ashley Salazar's teenage pregnancy and provides readers with a more in-depth view of Ashley's life before, during, and after pregnancy. The 16-and-pregnant episode just scratched the surface of the inner turmoil Ashley was feeling as she agonized over her decision to place the baby for adoption or take on the daunting task of single teenage motherhood. I appreciated that this memoir was Ashley's candid thoughts on the process.

[Elyzett Vargas · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book wasn´t my favorite but i had an interest in it because of it being based off of what happened to her in real life. I liked how she gave specific detail on how she felt when she decided to put her baby up for adoption due to the fact the she wasn´t ready. I really liked how she was honest about her relationship. It taught me that you can overcome any hard choices in life.