Waiting for Daisy - Peggy Orenstein

I was, at the time, searching for information, anything, about miscarriage. Before that bitter cold January I had only the vaguest sense of miscarriage. Someone's sister's friend's daughter, my aunt's step-son's wife. Miscarriage. It sounded awful. And sad. But only in passing. I didn't really understand it, the pain, the loss, the confusion, the hurt, the aching. This is the fortunate part--for most of us will never know it. During all that searching I came across a beautiful, moving piece in the Times by Peggy Orenstein. I wrote her -- and wonderfully, she wrote back. She was kind. She was thoughtful. I didn't know a single person who had miscarried (I would learn later of the silence that attaches itself to miscarriage. I did in fact know many, many women who had miscarried). My sister told me that my aunt had miscarried in the 1970s. But when I asked her about it, she was confused. She had never miscarried. I felt vulnerable, alone. Orenstein's words were a comfort. Her latest book, Waiting for Daisy: A Tale of Two Continents, Three Religions, Five Infertility Doctors, An Oscar, An Atomic Bomb, A Romantic Night, and One Woman's Quest to Become a Mother will be available on the 6th. I look forward to attending her book signing and reading when she comes to New York on March 5th.

Reviews:

"Intimate, funny/sad and remarkably self-revealing." –Kirkus (starred review)

"The story of author Peggy Orenstein's struggle with infertility is riveting, but what really makes her memoir such a compelling read is her refreshing honesty about the complicated emotions many women face on the path to motherhood." ­Parenting Magazine

"Orenstein's nakedly honest account of her decision at age 35 to have a baby and her ensuing struggle to do so reads like a detective thriller." Elle Magazine, Winner, Elle Lettres readers prize, February 2007

"A raw, funny and poignant memoir. She writes keenly and with humor about the difficult road her quest takes. By the time I reached the end of the book, I was crying into my latte. Orenstein's memoir is not just hers; it is the story of a generation of women who dared to wait for motherhood, took risks to achieve it and were brave enough to question their decisions every step of the way." Ann Hood, MORE

WAITING FOR DAISY TOUR DATES 2007

Thursday, February 15
BERKELEY, CA
Cody's 4th Street
Reading, 7 p.m.
www.codysbooks.com

Friday, February 16
MENLO PARK, CA
Kepler's
Reading, 7:30 p.m.
www.keplers.com

Tuesday, February 20
CAPITOLA, CA
Capitola Book Café
Reading, 7:30 p.m.
www.capitolabookcafe.com

Wednesday, February 21
SAN FRANCISCO, CA
Stacey's
Reading, 12:30 p.m.
www.staceys.com

Thursday, February 22
DANVILLE, CA
Rakestraw Books
Reading, 7 p.m.
www.rakestrawbooksindanville.com

Friday, February 23
OAKLAND, CA (Montclair)
A Great Good Place for Books
Reading, 7 p.m.
www.ggpbooks.com

Saturday, February 24
CORTE MADERA, CA
Book Passage
Reading, 2 p.m.
www.bookpassage.com

Monday, February 26
MILWAUKEE, WI
Harry Schwartz, Shorewood
Reading, 7 p.m.
www.schwartzbooks.com

Tuesday, February 27
CHICAGO, IL
Women and Children First
Reading, 7:30 p.m.
http://womenchildren.booksense.com

Wednesday, February 28
EVANSTON, IL
Northwestern University
Harris Hall, room 107
Reading and lecture 4:00 p.m.

Thursday, March 1
MINNEAPOLIS, MN
Barnes & Noble, Galleria
Reading, 7:30 p.m.
952-920-0633

Monday, March 5
NEW YORK, NY
Barnes & Noble, 82nd & Broadway
Reading, 7 p.m.
212-362-8835

Tuesday, March 6
NEW CANAAN, CT
New Canaan Library (Books provided by Elm Street Books)
Reading, 7:30 p.m.
http://newcanaanlibrary.org
www.elmstreetbooks.com

WASHINGTON, D.C.
Details forthcoming

BOSTON, MA
Simmons College
Details forthcoming

Wednesday, March 14
BELLEVUE, WA
University Bookstore, Bellevue
Reading, 7 p.m.
(425) 462-4500

Thursday, March 15
SEATTLE, WA
Third Place Books
Reading, 7 p.m.
www.thirdplacebooks.com

Friday, March 16
PORTLAND, OR
University of Oregon School of Journalism
Details forthcoming

Powell's Burnside
Reading, 7:30 p.m.
www.powells.com

Thursday, May 10
LOS ANGELES
Los Angeles Public Library
”Aloud Lecture Series”
Details forthcoming
www.lapl.org