Advance Praise from Booksellers for The Art of Waiting

“I was floored by The Art of Waiting. It contains so much-- Boggs' personal experience with infertility and assisted reproduction, but also her research into motherhood in animals, adoption, race, forced sterilization, and society's views and expectations of motherhood. It is compelling in its curiosity and brimming with the generous spirit of someone who truly wants to break open the idea of motherhood, making it less opaque in a world that so often sees families in only black and white.”—Stefanie Kiper Schmidt, Water Street Bookstore, Exeter, NH

The Art of Waiting is the perfect antidote to a society that puts an undue amount of pressure on women to have children 'naturally.' We're told to not put it off too long, to do what we can to protect our fertility, but what happens when plan A falls through? Infertility isn't talked about much in public and, when it is, it is often treated as an indicator that something is 'wrong,' typically with the woman. It is with great delicacy and heart that Belle Boggs takes us through her journey to motherhood, gently reminding the reader that there are so many ways to make a family. Reading this book felt like getting a hug and a pep talk from a mother, older sister, aunt, or mentor who really just wants the best for you. I'm so glad Boggs invited all of us along for a discussion of this difficult subject.”—Becca Chavez, Tattered Cover, Denver, CO

The Art of Waiting by Belle Boggs is essential reading for those interested in what an essay today can do. Adapted from a single short essay, Boggs ably tackles a variety of challenging topics throughout this cohesive collection's entries. This book's reader will meet a knowledgeable, considerate, and honest mind that finds expression in crystal clear language. Boggs is somehow able here to transform the clinical and sedate language of infertility treatments into a beautiful song of hope, and transformation. The metaphors Boggs finds for her travails sing, and the patient quality of her narration stuns. The candidness of her voice, combined with her ability to find the perfect words to sum up data, studies, statistics and personal experience, make The Art of Waiting a gift for readers young and old, single or married, with or without children.”—John Francisconi, Bank Square Books, Mystic, CT

The Art of Waiting is a heartfelt, thoughtful, and deeply profound study of infertility, fertility, and the complexities of creating a family in the modern world. Belle Boggs shares her personal navigation of the world of assisted reproduction and the emotional and financial tolls it can take on the journey to become a family.  Far from being a book solely of interest to women in their reproductive years, The Art of Waiting is also a meditation on the natural world around all of us, and the universal longing for a child among all species. Everyone waits for something, and I cannot think of a better way to spend that time than with the resplendent work of Belle Boggs.”—Pamela Klinger-Horn, Excelsior Bay Books, Excelsior, MN

“I always think I'm not a memoir reader, but then I pick up a book like The Art of Waiting (or really, any memoir published by Graywolf) and am blown away. I absolutely loved this book. Boggs’s story of her infertility and journey to conceive a child is so well told, intertwined with others' story and comprehensive interviews and research. Children are far in my future, but I still found myself unable to put down this book.”—Ann Mayhew, Magers & Quinn, Minneapolis, MN

 The Art of Waiting is not only a moving memoir of one woman’s struggles with infertility but a meditation on family in all its forms. In exploring things as disparate as pregnant gorillas and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and by chronicling her experiences with fertility treatments and the hard choices these treatments can lead to, Boggs has crafted a profoundly empathetic look at what children (and the lack of children) mean to us as a culture and as individuals.”—Emily Ballaine, Green Apple Books, San Francisco, CA

 “At a point in my life when I think I can't possibly read more about having kids or not having kids, The Art Waiting arrives. My ambivalence was quickly erased by the way Boggs makes the various experiences of others known and understandable, and by the way she writes her own experience into a larger context. More than once this spring I’ve wished I already had a copy to hand to a customer.”Angela Schwesnedl, Moon Palace Books, Minneapolis, MN

 “To state the obvious, I will never give birth—nor is fatherhood something I think much about. So why did The Art of Waiting leave me shaky, teary, happy? In this powerful book, Belle Boggs tells the story of her attempts to have a child—but this is no single-minded, sappy memoir. Instead, Boggs examines the notion of fertility from literary, linguistic, historical, and financial perspectives, ultimately birthing a book about the way we define the future—the way we make sense of our lives, however uncertainly, as we enter adulthood.”—Benjamin Rybeck, Brazos Bookstore, Houston, TX

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