Cracking Up: A Postpartum Faith Crisis

by Kimberlee Conway Ireton

At midlife, some men want a Beemer. Kimberlee's husband wants a baby. Another one.
Kimberlee doesn't. She already has two kids, her first book just hit bookstore shelves, and the only baby she wants to birth now is the young adult novel she's worked on for six years. After nine months of trying-and failing-to land an agent for her novel, Kimberlee finds out she's pregnant. With twins. By turns hilarious and heart-breaking, this debut memoir takes you on a roller coaster ride of hormonal disequilibrium, professional disappointment, hellacious sleep-deprivation, and the black pit of postpartum depression-only to bring you laughing back to the light. If you've ever wondered where God is in the mess of your upended life, come along with Kimberlee as she learns a whole lot about clinging to God (mostly by her fingernails) and finding grace and goodness in the darkest of life's corners.

Genres: Memoir

258 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2013

Reviews

[Meagan | The Chapter House · Rating 5 out of 5]

I ran into Kimberlee Conway Ireton's husband Doug about three weeks ago downtown. We don't see each other that frequently, despite working 40 hours a week only blocks apart!

He asked if I'd gotten a copy of Kimberlee's new book, Cracking Up, yet.

No, I blushed, I hadn't gotten to it yet.

"Please do. It puts food on our table."

So I did, the next day. Amazon got it to me within two days.

And I didn't pick it up to start reading until this week. At least I'd gotten a copy already, right? I thought, guiltily.

But then I needed a distraction from a stupid game I was playing nonstop on my iPad. (No, it wasn't "Angry Birds", but it was that addictive.) Voila - new book.

And then I got hooked on the book. I finished it in a day.

And yes, I'm a fast reader, but that's not the point.

This book is gripping. Addictive. You won't put it down until you've read Every. Last. Word.

It's an easy read. And it's not an easy read. It's easy in the sense that it flows, naturally, like water rushing downstream; you need to keep reading to get your fill. But it's not easy, because it's so very heartbreakingly real. Kimberlee's battle with postpartum depression is deeply, gut-wrenchingly real, and the reader is very, very present in every high and low of the journey.

But there is hope, and laughter. I nearly cried with laughter only a few pages in. Kimberlee writes so genuinely - her book is a true delight to read, and I am grateful to her for letting us in on a very difficult part of her (and many women's) life.

[Christie Purifoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A memoir of a mother's faith lived out in the valley of the shadow of death. Beautifully written (dialogue can be so tricky in memoir, but Ireton gets it exactly right - which means the dialogue never draws attention to itself, never feels "staged"), honest, funny, authentic. This is a simple story and simply told. Personal reflection is added to the scaffolding of the Christian church calendar so that the story is both intensely personal and utterly universal.
We need more stories like this. Stories to remind us that faith is sometimes lived out in very dark seasons but that light always returns.

[Jillian Vincent · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved his authors honest account of her birth and postpartum journey with two kids and twin babies. She struggles with anxiety and depression and the existence of God, and I appreciated her true to life account and her ability to share her search for Jesus amidst it all. I didn’t love the parts about her writing struggles, probably because it sounds a little too much like my own brain. I applaud her vulnerability and her ability to even journal amidst so much chaos. Thankful for a beautiful example of Christian community wrapping around this family too.

[Jessica Telian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! This book was unexpected, but so good! I grabbed it on a whim from Kindle Unlimited because I really liked the author's "The Circle of Seasons", and I love reading anything baby-related. However, I was barely halfway through when I bought my own Kindle copy to highlight in. I so appreciated the author's utter honesty regarding all of her struggles, and how they didn't get wrapped up in a nice little bow in the end. I'll definitely be coming back to this one!

[Reeve Klatt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked her honesty and how she approached her postpartum experience. Hard to criticize someone's own experience, I just wish the ending hadn't been so quickly wrapped up.

[Kari · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kimberlee’s book broke my heart because I saw in her the same postpartum feelings of hopelessness that I remembered. I do wonder if there is something in particular that causes Christians to resist medical help for depression, this idea that simply prayer and maybe some sunshine will be good enough. There should be no shame in admitting that you need help keeping your hormones balanced, and I applaud Kimberlee for boldly telling this story and shining a light for others in her own way. I also loved the ways she discussed how her work as a writer and her work as a mother are intertwined and that she needs both in her life to feel fully balanced.

Cracking Up is structured along with the church calendar, and it happened to be a lovely reading for Advent, just as we are waiting for the light the light to break into the darkness. Kimberlee’s self-deprecating humor and her thoughtful insight set this book apart for me. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and recommend it for new moms who enjoy reading books about faith, especially those new moms who are struggling with anxiety and depression.

Full review here: http://throughaglass.net/archives/201...

[Stacey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the most refreshing book I have read in a while. It is profoundly accurate in portraying the deep and overwhelming battle with anxiety and depression that many of us face, juxtaposed brilliantly with humor, hope, and the good, hard battle to remember and live in the true hope we have in God's grace. It is fun to read. It is sad to read. It is real. It is not preachy. But it does speak. Sometimes my battle with anxiety is so intense that I can't even really express it to myself. It is cathartic to read pages that feel as if someone looked into my soul and wrote out all the major themes of my own struggles, as well as the themes of my joys. I highly recommend this book to anyone who struggles with anxiety or depression. It is also a great book for anyone who is close to someone who struggles with these things. The circumstances and details will be different, but this book illuminates what it's like to be fighting these battles in the context of faith and hope in the saving grace of Christ.

[Cathee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written, totally engaging, thought-provoking. I’ve never struggled too much with anxiety, but I did experience postpartum depression, and Kimberlee’s book captured the pain of postpartum mental health issues so accurately: the seeming impossibility of self-care when there’s a newborn demanding your attention, especially if that newborn is having any specific issues; the difficulty, as a Christian woman, to admit that you need medical intervention in addition to (or in answer to?) prayer; the desperate need for support from a loving community. Kimberlee’s book had so many great insights, both from her own experiences and from quotes and scriptures, that I found myself wanting to read it all over again as soon as I’d finished, so that I could take the time to think about what she was saying, rather than just inhaling it.

[Amy Young · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really a 3.5 -- I loved this book! I won it in a blog give away and it easily became one of my fav reads in 2013 (Thank you Kimberlee and Michelle!). As a non-mom but fellow writer, I resonated with Kimberlee's wrestling with wanting to write more than life allowed and her jealousy of other writers. She has such an engaging way of expressing the ups and downs of a life lived in concert with her family and relational reality (hello, twins born when thinking she's just have a third baby). I highly recommend this book!

LOVED it so much it was the Velvet Ashes Book Club September book and what RICH discussion it fostered :)!!

First read Novem 2013
Second read Aug/Sept 2014

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found the writing of Kimberlee Conway Ireton thanks to her first book, Circle of Seasons, which I adored. I'm thankful I brought Cracking Up with me on vacation when I have more time to read, because it's hard to put down. She's honest about the details of her journey, bringing them to life in real, sometimes even raw ways with her words. There's a vibrancy and depth to all she shares. Interestingly, while the stories in this book describe challenges, the takeaway is true joy.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wrote a lengthy response to this on my blog, remarking on the quality writing, the humor, the honesty, the struggle. A great book to climb inside the mind, heart and soul of someone dealing with postpartum depression (and not realizing it, which I suspect is the case with many new moms). I recommend reading this and giving it to new moms who might be at risk of having PPD. Here's my official response: http://annkroeker.com/2013/12/13/book...

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very clear examination of faith in the midst of suffering but so eloquent it feels like Conway Ireton has written the words I needed but could not put together. I am so very grateful for this book as it gives me a better way to describe my own struggles.

[Angela Burke · Rating 5 out of 5]

It to me two days to laugh/cry my way through this- so much truth shared here. A humor and hope laced portrait of the deep exhausting pain that is the struggle with depression and anxiety.