Brooke Shields is in the enviable position of having a famous name and the means to gain Oprah's recommendation of this book. Because of these connections, many women will read this book and identify with the basic feelings of post-partum depression - a very worthwhile outcome in a time where women still suffer greatly during pregnancy and childbirth, while men are offered expensive medication for the slightest sign of flaccidity. This book is educational in that it offers women an insight into a very common condition and shows that medical help and relief can be simple and very effective.
If, however, you are already familiar with the subject of post-partum depression, then save your money. The book is not well-written and would never have been published if written by a mere commoner. I was thoroughly bored with much of the story and positively groaned over the many cliches and references to the "Itsy Bitsy Spider" song. Worse yet, I found myself shaking my head in contempt for Brooke's idealistic goals of motherhood, i.e. wanting to be "totally in love" and "the perfect mom," wanting to always be with the baby, etc. Women do not need to come away from this book feeling that anything less than these sentiments means failure!
Don't misunderstand; I am a survivor of severe post-partum depression myself, and think it a terribly important topic. Brooke Shields does a good thing here by using her famous name to increase awareness of a condition many women suffer in silence. However, the writing is average, and I feel concern that some women will interpret their lack of "perfect" emotions as being some form of postpartum depression.

I got this book after seeing Brooke Shields on Oprah. I immediately immersed myself into it looking for answers on how to deal with my PPD. She put into words what I could not. It really helped to explain what I was going through to my husband and my mother.

I applaud Brooke's courage to pour her personal struggles into a book for millions to read. It really made me realize that this is normal, and that I am not the only one suffereing this illness.

I would also highly recommend "This isn't what I expected, Overcoming Postpartum Depression". So far these two books are the best I have read after going through 4 others.

Bravo to Brooke Shields for coming out and writing a book about her experience with post partum depression. I never experienced depression as bad as hers after I had my daughter, but did experience minor depression. The book is very honest and I found it to be encouraging. I definitely recommend this book to everyone!

There were parts of this book that were almost too hard to read---the days soon after Rowan's birth when things were so very dark for Shields. She described the feelings so intensely and truthfully it made me cry. I did not really ever have full fledged PPD, but I had very intense early on depression, like severe baby blues, and I remember all too well the feeling I had when I first brought my 3rd child home---how I felt like nothing again would ever be worth doing, how even having my husband gone for a few minutes felt extremely scary, how I felt like my daughter didn't need or want me---all things that Shields wrote about so well. It must not have been at all easy for her to relive these moments, and I think she will help many by doing so.

I also admired her for talking about how much help she got from the baby nurse Gemma. Often I think people are reluctant to admit that "help" can be so important in their lives. Shields sounds extremely down to earth, and Gemma sounds like a true gem.

I hope that Shields and her husband and daughter have a happy life always, and that if they do have another child, that it's a post partum time free of depression and full of happiness!

I read this book and it gave me the courage to talk to my husband and family about how I was feeling. PPD is a hard illness to deal with and it was encouraging to hear her story and know that she made it through and loves being a mom now! I loved all the resources in the back of the book also. Lots of websites that were also useful in finding support.