With big thanks to brilliant novelist Kimmery Martin for calling Held Together “the most perfect book I could possibly recommend to gift to your best friend.”
Signed copies now available at Annie Bloom’s and Powell’s! (Locally and for shipping anywhere in the US—call ahead to confirm stock.)
Postpartum Support International affiliate links, to send a portion of the proceeds to benefit maternal and family mental health:
One primary care physician's moving memoir of navigating a complicated path to motherhood, interwoven with the stories of twenty-one of her patients, friends, and medical colleagues
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When she endures a string of life-threatening pregnancy losses and rare medical complications, Rebecca Thompson discovers that being a doctor does little to protect her from feeling isolated and overwhelmed. What she longs for is a community of women—or even one encouraging story—to reassure her that she isn’t alone.
Held Together is her response to that unmet need. Seeking out the extraordinary stories of ordinary women, Dr. Thompson collaborates with friends, patients, and medical colleagues to explore their most intimate reflections on motherhood, from how they become parents to how their families grow and change as they face challenges far beyond those early years. Through experiences ranging from the universal to the nearly unimaginable, these brave, resilient women navigate devastations and triumphs, moments of hope and wonder, and, sometimes, grief that threatens to consume them—until joy emerges in unexpected places.
Their stories now offer up a place of healing that welcomes all kinds of families, born and built and chosen, reminding us that life can be beautiful in spite of—and often because of—its messiness and uncertainty. Held Together is a testament to the essential truth that our foundations may not always be strong, but together, we are.