The Early Birds: A Mother's Story for Our Times (Hardcover)

by Jenny Minton (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Minton, a former senior editor at Knopf, was 30 and unable to conceive. She and her husband tried various infertility protocols before finding success with in vitro fertilization. Minton's twin boys were born dangerously premature, at 31 weeks; they went immediately into neonatal intensive care, where they stayed for two months. Even after going home, they were medicated and monitored because they tended to stop breathing when feeding. Eventually their health stabilized and, 21 months later, Minton and her husband decided to unfreeze another of their fertilized eggs, producing a third son. While there are many infertility memoirs on the market, Minton's advantages set her work apart. She was young and healthy enough to undergo infertility treatment. Her employers were flexible. Her husband was able to support her with his generous paycheck, and her insurance company was willing to pay the $1 million she estimated the twins cost. Although the book's first half is riveting, Minton's comfortable situation turns the second half—when the twins are out of danger—into a sentimental monologue. Infertility memoirs are variations on a single plot: the struggle to give birth to viable babies. Once the mission is accomplished, mom's better off sharing the routine child-rearing stories with immediate family only. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
At 30 years old, after nine months of trying to conceive, Minton and her husband turned to a fertility clinic. After in vitro fertilization, Minton gave birth prematurely to twin boys--Gus and Sam--each weighing only three and a half pounds. The boys spent 64 days in neonatal intensive care before their parents took them home to a lifetime of uncertainty about the effect of prematurity on their development. As they grew and began to catch up with other children, Minton's worries lessened but her concern remained for the implications of so many multiple and premature births to women impregnated via IVF. She offers a gripping account of the time from birth to release from the hospital to comfort and joy in parenthood. Minton laments that many fertility clinics separate the pregnancy from the actual babies. In this very personal, heartfelt look at her own pregnancy, Minton offers an enthralling perspective on fertility treatment and a generation of parents--and children--engaged in changes in the virtually unregulated arena of reproductive medicine. Vanessa Bush
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Knopf (April 18, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400043832
• ISBN-13: 978-1400043835
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #846,514 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a beautiful book!, May 16, 2006

By	susie day "Suzetski" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

I happened to see author Jenny Minton on the Today Show yesterday morning, and although I'm not a mother, I was so moved by the depth of Jenny's feeling for her prematurely-born babies that I bought her book yesterday afternoon. I stayed up most of the night reading it. Early Birds is a marvelously intelligent memoir, crafted with wit as well as passion, and I'd recommend it for any woman concerned with premature delivery -- or any person who simply wants a fantastic read.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Early Birds" get the heart, May 7, 2006

By	Laura Jessister - See all my reviews

This book has universal human appeal, not only because Minton tells the story in such direct and honest terms, but also because her writing is in itself exquisite. Whether readers are parents themselves or just human beings, this story is compelling. By the end of the book, every reader will celebrate Jenny Minton and her family-not only for exhibiting courage and resilience while surviving, but for opening their experience and their hearts to all of us.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best book I've read this year..., April 18, 2006

By	Rebecca Smith "Rebecca" (White Plains, NY) - See all my reviews

This book made me cry, it made me laugh, it made me smile. This was a great read. Even though I am not a mother myself, this book utterly moved me. Minton's account of her relationship with her husband, family and friends during this time would reach out to anyone. And as for the bigger issue, the infertility, pregnancy, birth and struggles of her boys, who could not be touched by this?

To top it all off, Minton has pledged 50% of the royalties of this book to the March of Dimes - who wouldn't want to buy it?!

I cannot remember the last time I couldn't put a book down like this. By far, the best book I've read this year.