Distributed for CavanKerry Press
All that We Ask of You Is to Always Be Happy
Poems that offer an honest portrayal of the complex realities of motherhood, including the devastating effects of postpartum depression.
Maternal mental illness is an ongoing health crisis and deserves awareness, not only in the medical world but in the poetry world, too. Bridget Bell’s All that We Ask of You Is to Always Be Happy offers support to current mothers, mothers-to-be, family members of people suffering from perinatal mental illnesses, OB-GYNs, nurses, and any other healthcare providers. Bell uses various poetic forms to shed light on the challenges that come with motherhood, including the physical and emotional challenges of childbirth while celebrating the beauty of women’s strength and resilience. Written with deep care and fearlessness, Bell’s debut collection is both an educational tool and a powerful component of recovery in that shares others’ similar stories.
Maternal mental illness is an ongoing health crisis and deserves awareness, not only in the medical world but in the poetry world, too. Bridget Bell’s All that We Ask of You Is to Always Be Happy offers support to current mothers, mothers-to-be, family members of people suffering from perinatal mental illnesses, OB-GYNs, nurses, and any other healthcare providers. Bell uses various poetic forms to shed light on the challenges that come with motherhood, including the physical and emotional challenges of childbirth while celebrating the beauty of women’s strength and resilience. Written with deep care and fearlessness, Bell’s debut collection is both an educational tool and a powerful component of recovery in that shares others’ similar stories.
Table of Contents
Introduction by Riah Patterson, MD
I.
Directive for Women Who Are Not Yet Mothers but Will Become Mothers
This Is How You Lose Your Body
Origin Stories
My doctor recounts to me an anecdote
Paranoia’s Genesis
Pressure
Raising Mothers
Checkup
Sestina in Which the World Fails to Tell You About the Tedium
Plea
Dangerous for Mothers
II.
Root Cause Analysis of Perinatal Mood Disorders
Postpartum Depression
This is for the mother (Perinatal Mood Disorders Inpatient Unit)
Sleep Deprivation
Portraits of Postpartum Anxiety
This is for the mother (intrusive thoughts)
Rumination
Escape
This is for the mother (postpartum psychosis)
III.
A Survivor of Postpartum Depression Explains Why She Wants Another Baby
Co-opting Anne Carson’s “The Glass Essay” to Process My Miscarriage
IV.
Pregnancy Anaphora
Lemons and Grapefruits
Recurrence of Depression with Third Pregnancy
The Peas
On Not Waiting It Out to See If I Feel Better
Collective
Apology to My Daughter While Rocking My Infant Son
On Beginning to Heal
Elegy with Resistance
I worry about women
Dear New Mother—
Don’t Tell Her Congratulations
The Language of Becoming Well
Notes
Acknowledgments
I.
Directive for Women Who Are Not Yet Mothers but Will Become Mothers
This Is How You Lose Your Body
Origin Stories
My doctor recounts to me an anecdote
Paranoia’s Genesis
Pressure
Raising Mothers
Checkup
Sestina in Which the World Fails to Tell You About the Tedium
Plea
Dangerous for Mothers
II.
Root Cause Analysis of Perinatal Mood Disorders
Postpartum Depression
This is for the mother (Perinatal Mood Disorders Inpatient Unit)
Sleep Deprivation
Portraits of Postpartum Anxiety
This is for the mother (intrusive thoughts)
Rumination
Escape
This is for the mother (postpartum psychosis)
III.
A Survivor of Postpartum Depression Explains Why She Wants Another Baby
Co-opting Anne Carson’s “The Glass Essay” to Process My Miscarriage
IV.
Pregnancy Anaphora
Lemons and Grapefruits
Recurrence of Depression with Third Pregnancy
The Peas
On Not Waiting It Out to See If I Feel Better
Collective
Apology to My Daughter While Rocking My Infant Son
On Beginning to Heal
Elegy with Resistance
I worry about women
Dear New Mother—
Don’t Tell Her Congratulations
The Language of Becoming Well
Notes
Acknowledgments