Monica Murphy LeMoine is used to writing postcards from strange, faraway places. After years of traveling around the world with her Peace Corps sweetheart-turned-husband, she finds herself on a blissfully ignorant journey toward new parenthood. But when the pregnancy ends before it's supposed to, Monica is abruptly launched into a different kind of world that nothing in life has prepared her for. It is up to Monica to navigate this strange land of almost-parenthood, make sense of her own confusing grief for real and imagined lives lost, and-ultimately-learn to move forward without someone she loves. A memoir told in postcards, Knocked up, Knocked Down is about finding solace in the most surprising places when life knocks you to the ground. And if you have ever lost a loved one, this uplifting story will help you move upward, too. "Monica Murphy LeMoine worked all over the world with the Peace Corps and grew up in a family that never had time to 'sit around and wallow.' She never comes close to that in this deeply and darkly funny, anti-trauma memoir. Refusing to accept the grief package defined by well-meaning counselors who said she'd never recover, this book calmly and firmly replies, 'bull#@%&!" -Christina Gombar, prize-winning author, Literary Editor for Exhale, and reviewer for Bookslut and London Review of Books.
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More About the Author
Monica Murphy LeMoine is a college English instructor, former Peace Corps volunteer, and emerging writer. She blogs about knocked-down life at www.knockedupknockeddown.blogspot.com, and is the founder of Exhale, an online literary magazine for infertility and pregnancy/infant loss. Her written work has appeared in numerous publications, including Reality Mom, Hip Mama, and Mamazine. Monica lives in Seattle, Washington with her awesome husband, one small and scruffy dog, and her newborn son - Sean Murphy LeMoine.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
The world of miscarriage is more heavily populated than most realize, but because talking and writing about it isn't popular (yet!), when you find yourself--quite suddenly--in that world, you often feel alone. Monica Lemoine's witty, gritty, honest, and inspiring writing showed me that not only wasn't I alone, I had a guide of sorts, a best friend who had already been in the trenches (3 times) and made it through. If you have experienced a pregnancy loss and the standard pink & blue/flowery/teddy bear world just doesn't work for you, Knocked Up, Knocked Down will undoubtedly have you nodding your head in "yes, yes, I know exACtly how you felt" agreement, crying shared tears of frustration and devastation, and--here's the unique part---laughing uproariously in spots you never expected. What, you say? Laughter, at a time like this? Yes. Yes, and yes. Lemoine has the uncanny ability to combine honest and hilarious frankness with tender sensitivity and artistic inspiration in a big swirl of hopes, sorrow, hipness, and tragedy that leave you wanting more, more, and more (I read it in two fervent late night sessions!). I cannot recommend this book highly enough to anyone who has gone through any sort of pregnancy loss or infertility problems, and here's why: it has been a key part of my not just "accepting" my Knocked Up Knocked Down-ed-ness, but seriously embracing it with all the strength my two arms and strong heart can hold. Monica Lemoine is blazing a trail through a dark forest, holding a light so that all can see--through her story, her life--that we are a tribe, a sisterhood,and we need never walk it alone.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By Dan J M
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
In Knocked Up, Knocked Down, Monica Murphy Lemoine offers readers an opportunity to embark on the rarest of journeys, to see the world through the eyes of a woman who experiences one of the most personal and extreme forms of trauma: a miscarriage.
The honesty with which Monica crafts each of her postcard-like narratives targets our hearts and stomachs with surgical precision. One moment we hold her hand and cry with her as her physician quietly coveys dire news, and the next we gyrate with her on the basement floor of her home during a disco dance she had organized for her expectant friends. From one alternately hilarious and terrifying tale to the next, we laugh and we cry. We hope and we heal. And as we accompany Monica on her journey, we never stop cheering for her to reach that maddeningly elusive goal of motherhood.
A note to male readers: This book is as much for us as it is for our female friends, family members, and loved ones. With grace, wit, charm, humor, and humility, Mrs. Murphy Lemoine teaches us that life's most horrendous experiences amount to far more than the damage they inflict. Indeed, she shows us that the graver the wound the greater the opportunity for emotional and spiritual growth.
-Dan Macomber
The honesty with which Monica crafts each of her postcard-like narratives targets our hearts and stomachs with surgical precision. One moment we hold her hand and cry with her as her physician quietly coveys dire news, and the next we gyrate with her on the basement floor of her home during a disco dance she had organized for her expectant friends. From one alternately hilarious and terrifying tale to the next, we laugh and we cry. We hope and we heal. And as we accompany Monica on her journey, we never stop cheering for her to reach that maddeningly elusive goal of motherhood.
A note to male readers: This book is as much for us as it is for our female friends, family members, and loved ones. With grace, wit, charm, humor, and humility, Mrs. Murphy Lemoine teaches us that life's most horrendous experiences amount to far more than the damage they inflict. Indeed, she shows us that the graver the wound the greater the opportunity for emotional and spiritual growth.
-Dan Macomber
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By M. Baab
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Many parts of this book read like I was talking to myself, except that this me was funnier, wiser, and more honest. At this stage of my grieving process (16 months) it was the perfect read. There was no glib sappiness or quickie happy ending, but it was the real journey of one woman through a great deal of loss and heartache. I don't know why it matters so much to know there are others who've been down this road before me, but it helps me immensely. I hope she writes a second book.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
very helpful
couldn't put it down. very well written. made me feel better to go through the stages of grief with her. very relatable. Thank you Monica Murph LeMoine for writing this book.
Published 3 days ago by fairy Godmother
5.0 out of 5 stars
I loved this book!
I've read many books about pregnancy loss and this is the first one I really ENJOYED reading. The author's raw persepctive and wonderful sense of humor made this feel like a... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Jane G.
5.0 out of 5 stars
wonderful
Monica Murphy Lemoine has created a vivid, well-written emotional roller coaster recording the highs and lows of her lost children. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Crystalinda
5.0 out of 5 stars
I Wish I Had Found This Book Sooner
Knocked Up, Knocked Down is a brilliantly written book by a writer whose honesty and candour in the wake of staggering heartbreak makes it high on my list of excellent books about... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Nicole Breit
2.0 out of 5 stars
Twin star
While I appreciate sarcasm, rhetoric, and dark humor, I found KUKD to be flat and disappointing, failing woefully to capture the essence of what baby death means even from a... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Int'l Trade And Corp
5.0 out of 5 stars
Powerful & Hopeful
A really good personal memoir includes two things, I think, above all others; 1) the author's story told in a clear & compelling manner, and 2)the author gets the reader to care... Read more
Published on November 8, 2010 by Steve Butler
4.0 out of 5 stars
engaging narrative
While the heart-wrenching loss of a baby is, unfortunately, common, it is rarely written about with this much skill and good humor. I look forward to other books from her.
Published on July 28, 2010 by John H. Uhlemann
5.0 out of 5 stars
a lesson in living
None of my life experiences can compare to Monica's journey through pregnancy, motherhood, miscarriage, or stillbirth. Read more
Published on May 22, 2010 by A Liska
5.0 out of 5 stars
Working Through Loss and Not a Downer
If you've ever been saddened by a loss too big to imagine, or know someone who has, or think you might feel this way someday, read Knocked Up Knocked Down. Read more
Published on May 2, 2010 by Gardenia
5.0 out of 5 stars
This book is a KNOCK OUT!
I think EVERYONE should read this. Female, male, canine, bovine, everyone because, the odds are, that you will either experience this kind of loss first hand or know someone who... Read more
Published on April 20, 2010 by Nora L. Dalasta
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