All that We Ask of You Is to Always Be Happy

by Bridget Bell, Riah Patterson MD (introduction)

Genres: Poetry

88 pages, Paperback

Published February 4, 2025

Reviews

[Renee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was prompted to buy this book after a dear friend received a PPD diagnosis, and I am so glad I did.

Having PPD doesn't make you a bad mother, and Bridget shouts this from the rooftops with her verse, which is at times exacting and pointed, and at other times witty and wry, but always honest and tender. I am so fascinated by the complicated motherhood experience, because, growing up, motherhood was painted as easy, effortless, the most natural female ability, and the only way to be truly happy as a woman.

In reality, pregnancy, birth, and motherhood are rarely the breezy experience women are sold. Books like Bridget's are a step in the right direction: a step toward honesty about the difficulties of motherhood, sympathy and love for mothers who struggle, and a dignifying look at all facets of the female experience.

[Katelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poet Bridget Bell's collection focuses on new motherhood, pregnancy and postpartum depression. I like how Bell includes facts about pregnancy, postpartum and mental illness, and the book is introduced by a reproductive psychiatrist. Bell's words are powerful, and this collection of poems will ring true to mothers. In "Directive for Women Who Are Not Yet Mothers but Will Become Mothers," Bell warns "Soon you will be mired in layers/of din... so stop/now, while there is still this mercy/of no one needing you, and listen/to the zip of white leather/boots, flaunt them with a storm-stomp, like lightning."
Bell recognizes the power of shared experience. In "The Language of Becoming Well," she writes "From the earth-splitting quake/a new mountain born, and I am not alone/but connected to/other mother-writers; we crash our tectonic plates/together, we form/a jagged, brilliant range." In "Collective," she reminds us "...you are not alone./Everywhere, there is a woman awake with you."
I borrowed this from the library, put sticky tabs all over it, then bought my own copy to mark up. 10/10; this is one to live on your shelves.

[Erin Gallagher · Rating 5 out of 5]

This slim volume can be read in one sitting but packs in so many searing truths about motherhood that I have never seen captured anywhere else. Bell puts into words the tedium and fear of being responsible for a new life. She also deftly draws attention to the shameful lack of care for the mental and physical health of postpartum mothers. I wish I had had Bell’s words to lean on when I was newly postpartum. Buy this book for every new parent you know!