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Summary
Summary
In this compelling memoir, Brooke Shields talks candidly about her experience with postpartum depression after the birth of her daughter, and provides millions of women with an inspiring example of recovery.
When Brooke Shields welcomed her newborn daughter, Rowan Francis, into the world, something unexpected followed--a crippling depression. Now, for the first time ever, in Down Came the Rain , Brooke talks about the trials, tribulations, and finally the triumphs that occurred before, during, and after the birth of her daughter.
Author Notes
Brooke Shields was born on May 31, 1965 in New York City. She received a bachelor's degree in French literature from Princeton University in 1987. She is an actress and model; she appeared in several movies including Pretty Baby, The Blue Lagoon, and Endless Love. Shields also starred in the television shows Suddenly Susan and Lipstick Jungle, and has appeared in several Broadway productions including Grease, Cabaret, and Chicago.
Shields has written several books about her life including On Your Own, Down Came the Rain, and There Was a Little Girl: The Real Story of My Mother and Me. She also wrote a children's book about dads and their daughters entitled, It's the Best Day Ever, Dad!
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (3)
Publisher's Weekly Review
In 1980, when she was 15, Shields starred in The Blue Lagoon. In the movie, her character accidentally becomes pregnant, and when her son is born, he intuitively finds his way to her breast as Shields looks on with love and contentment. The irony of this scene isn't lost on the grown-up Shields, who not only did not become pregnant accidentally-numerous IVF cycles and a miscarriage preceded the 2003 birth of her daughter-but suffered a devastating aftermath to that birth. "I was in a bizarre state of mind," Shields describes, "experiencing feelings that ranged from embarrassment to stoicism to melancholy to shock, practically at once. I didn't feel at all joyful." Shields assumed she'd bounce back in a few days, after resting from her difficult labor. Instead, her feelings intensified: "This was sadness of a shockingly different magnitude. It felt as if it would never go away." While Shields denied anything was wrong, the persistence of friends and her husband persuaded her to seek treatment through medication and therapy. This brave memoir doesn't shy away from Shields's most difficult moments, including her suicidal thoughts, clearly showing the despair postpartum depression can wreak. While the writing is sometimes repetitive and cliched, it does emphasize the depth of Shields's depression. This tale will bring awareness of a problem that so many mothers have been afraid to discuss; look for this book to touch off a flurry of lifestyle pieces. Agent, Kassie Evashevski at Brillstein Gray. (May 3) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus Review
Unsparing account of the actress's experience with acute postpartum anxiety disorder following the birth of her daughter in 2003. Shields also shares details about the pressures and frustrations of her struggle to get pregnant, her joy at finally conceiving, her uneventful pregnancy and the long labor that ended with a C-section. But the central story begins in the operating room, where the sight of her husband holding newborn Rowan filled her with "jealousy, fear, and rage." Recovering in the hospital, she assumed that her feelings of misery and alienation would change, but when her baby was brought to her to nurse, she felt no bond with the infant, whom she regarded as "a complete stranger." At home, physical exhaustion was accompanied by panic, dread and enormous sadness. Shields pulls no punches in describing her profound detachment from her child. She had no desire to pick up or care for Rowan, she admits; what she wanted was to run away. In the weeks following the birth, it became clear that Shields was suffering from a condition much more serious than "the baby blues." The antidepressant Paxil helped some, but her decision to go off it cold turkey was a serious mistake. Trying to reconcile motherhood and an acting career added to the pressure. (Shields's awareness of herself as a celebrity gives this memoir special interest.) She finally pulled out of her unnervingly severe postpartum depression with the help of psychotherapy in combination with other antidepressants. Educating herself about the condition and reading about other women's experiences also helped, as did the simple passage of time. In addition to her personal story, the author has included solid information about postpartum depression; an afterword lists helpful books, Web sites and hot lines. Shields's forthright admission of feelings that many similarly afflicted new mothers deny could well spark valuable discussions about "this large white elephant sitting in the room that no one was supposed to talk about." Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Library Journal Review
Here, actress Shields details her difficult struggle with postpartum depression in a surprisingly candid and personal way. She had always wanted children, and when she married second husband Chris Henchy, she felt the time was right. After numerous and painful fertility treatments, a tragic miscarriage, and a life-threatening emergency cesarean section, Shields finally welcomed her daughter, Rowan Francis, into the world. But instead of feeling joyful, she felt sorrow, rage, fatigue, confusion, and a disconnection to her newborn. As her feelings intensified, her husband and family pleaded with her to seek help, because she clearly had more than the baby blues. After finally accepting help, the author found that time, therapy, a baby nurse, and medication would ease her through this all-too-common condition. Shields reads her memoir and does an outstanding job; her delivery, candor, and humor make listeners feel as though she is having a personal conversation with them. Definitely recommended; best suited for public and consumer health/patient education collections.--Nicole A. Cooke, Montclair State Univ. Lib., NJ (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
