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Mara Altman
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Baby Steps (Kindle Single) Kindle Edition

by Mara Altman (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 193 ratings
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Mara Altman, author of the number-one Kindle Singles bestseller “Bearded Lady,” turns to the topic of motherhood with touching and uproarious results. At 32 years old, the recently married author found herself suddenly surrounded by babies, and the expectation of family and friends that she would soon have one herself. Altman’s ambivalence prompted a search for the meaning of motherhood –– one that led her to wear a fake pregnancy belly, attend pre-natal yoga classes, debate experts, and even tend to her very own crying plastic baby. Her reporting led to a surprising and uplifting lesson about life, love and the choices we make. “Baby Steps” is what to expect when you’re not expecting –– a heartfelt and hilarious guide to making the most important decision of your life.

After graduating from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, Mara Altman worked as a staff writer for The Village Voice. In 2009, HarperCollins published Altman's first book, Thanks For Coming: A Young Woman's Quest for an Orgasm, which was optioned as a comedy series by HBO. She has published three best-selling Kindle Singles, and has also written for New York Magazine and The New York Times.

Cover design by Adil Dara Kim. Cover photograph by Christopher Lane. Illustrations by Mara Altman.
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  1. Print length
    60 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publication date
    March 9, 2014
  5. File size
    809 KB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

When we find ourselves teetering on the cliff of a major life choice, how do we know whether to take a step back or jump? Mara Altman, author of the best-selling Kindle Singles Bearded Lady and Sparkle, is in her early thirties, newly married, and paralyzed by the question of whether or not she wants children. With her trademark wit and willingness to try anything once, Altman attempts to answer that question by talking to experts, crashing a prenatal yoga class, wearing a sympathy pregnancy belly, even carrying around a baby doll that cries and screams just like its real-life counterpart. In Baby Steps, Altman channels the spirit of Nora Ephron and surprises us with how relatable her exploits are. We may not wish to test drive parenthood with a lifelike doll, as Altman does, but we can be grateful she did in this comic and buoyant quest to find certainty. --Carly Hoffmann

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00IXYIP3O
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 9, 2014
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 809 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 60 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 193 ratings

About the author

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Mara Altman

Mara Altman

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Mara Altman writes about issues that embarrass her (i.e. chin hair), because she has found that putting shame on the page defuses the stigma, leaving her with a sense of empowerment and freedom. Her newest book, Gross Anatomy: Dispatches From the Front (And Back), publishes August 2018.

Over time, Mara has become progressively fearful of airplane flights, but less concerned with getting fat (in the Spring of 2010, she started to eat bacon). She feels most inspired when walking across bridges and lives the perpetual Catch-22 of not being able to go to sleep without first drinking a glass of water, but then having to get up to pee at 3 a.m. She reminds herself that things could always be worse. Then she's stuck thinking about all the bad things that could happen. And then she can't get back to sleep.

Mara has published seven best-selling Kindle Singles. Thanks for Coming, her first book, which follows her on an adventure to find her orgasm, was translated into three languages - German, Spanish and Portuguese. The book was also optioned by HBO. Before going freelance, she worked at daily newspapers both in India and Thailand and was a staff writer for the Village Voice. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, New York Magazine and other outlets.

Customer reviews

3.9 out of 5 stars
3.9 out of 5
193 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Kat Alexander
5.0 out of 5 stars Empowering, enlightening and uplifting
Reviewed in the United States on March 20, 2014
Verified Purchase
In her new Kindle Single, "Baby Steps", Altman embarks on an insightful and hilarious quest to understand her motives for motherhood. As an unmarried and childless 34 year-old woman, I’ve been doing some major self-examination of what I want in life, babies included, and this piece couldn’t be more timely.

Altman has the unique ability to approach the question as a scientist (she conducts interviews with experts around the country, puts herself through experiments etc.), while avoiding the dry peer-reviewed prose that put me to sleep in my PhD program.

The most insightful aspect of Altman’s writing is her gift of capturing her raw, unfiltered internal monologue. Her brutal self honesty inspired me to be more truthful, and I found myself jotting thoughts in my journal that I hadn’t been able to put in writing before (although they were quick breaks as I devoured her piece in one sitting).

While I sometimes feel burdened by the “baby decision”, reading Altman’s piece made me feel tremendously empowered about the decision I get to make (assuming I’m still fertile!). She did the leg work of talking to experts, and has given me a foundation to continue my soul searching — but this time with a more solid ability to articulate what I want.

Another plus — she is hilarious. And really, I needed to laugh while reading about the weighty decision of procreation.

Finally, this piece is not just about deciding whether or not to have a baby. For me, it is about approaching one’s life from a mindful place. If everyone approached big life decisions with the intention Altman looks at motherhood, I think the world might be a better place.
3 people found this helpful
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Nina
4.0 out of 5 stars Good read
Reviewed in the United States on March 29, 2014
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I have read all of Mara's kindle singles and this one, as with the others, speaks to her personal struggles with poignancy and humor. You really get a feel for the way she integrates research and listening to her history and her heart.
However, I do think that she would do well to expand her format a bit. Having read all her works, there is a way her style seems a bit like a template.
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Nicole A. Hamic
3.0 out of 5 stars An honest inquiry
Reviewed in the United States on April 13, 2014
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I liked this book even if it is just three stars. As a woman in my early 30's as well, I have wondered and wondered about whether or not I should or could be a mother and if it was necessary for my happiness or even a worthwhile thing to do, so to see another woman's similarly obsessive search for answers and meaning in black and white, it was very reassuring. Her honesty was refreshing though I felt her summation at the end of the book was a little "blah" and I wanted to hear more.
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Laura Carroll
5.0 out of 5 stars Up close and personal - and funny memoir about the motherhood decision
Reviewed in the United States on April 9, 2014
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As part of researching her book, Mara and I met to talk about my book, The Baby Matrix. We discussed pronatalism, the childfree, the childless, the motherhood decision, and shared personal stories. As she writes in Baby Steps, “we’d gotten kind of tight over that chat.” Somehow I knew we would stay in touch.

I was excited to read Baby Steps and to see how she was doing with regards to her big decision. I read it in one sitting on a long plane ride. Baby Steps is very engaging, intimate and funny. My giggles started when she described me as “well-groomed, coiffed hair, smooth skin” and that “my pantsuit even had the creases ironed in”! Little did she know that my outfit was really the result of not having time to change to meet her after a meeting with a business client, and that I am actually a casual, crease-less kind of person! And smooth skin – why, that is what I was thinking about her! Too funny.

In her book she hits the high points of pronatalism, and writes of the question she asked me near the end of our lunch, “Would you pissed if I had a baby?” You can read my answer, but the gist I conveyed - well thought I conveyed was - not at all. So I was surprised when I read that she wasn’t sure I meant it. Mara, let’s revisit that one, because indeed I did.

Mara takes us through her interviews with other experts, from Mary Ireland, psychotherapist and author of Reconceiving Women , Merle Bombardieri, the author of The Baby Decision to a hilarious account of her time with Linda, a birthing expert who gets Mara into “Empathy Belly.” She also finally has “the talk” with her childfree Aunt Judy and Uncle Steve.

But it is her pilot test of what it is like to have an infant that got heads turning as I giggled on the plane. I won’t spoil it here – I’ll let you find out exactly what she decided to do to really get the feel of things.

So what did she decide – to have or not to have? I won’t spoil the ending either. I will say, though, my prediction was right.

Whether she decided yes, no, or remained in maybe-land, one thing I know for sure: If everyone did a sliver of the research, the thinking and experimenting that Mara did to help her make her decision, we would have a lot more amazing parents out there!

Bravo, Mara – and I mean it.

Baby Steps is for anyone in the midst of the parenthood decision, or who will delight in an up close and personal – and funny memoir about this amazing woman’s process.
One person found this helpful
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Ashley Anderson
4.0 out of 5 stars Quick, easy, enjoyable read.
Reviewed in the United States on May 7, 2014
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I enjoyed this book very much. I don't have a lot of time to read so this book was perfect. It was light and funny and had some very good points it made that still have me pondering my own life choices involving kids.
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Ben B.
5.0 out of 5 stars Another Hit by Mara Altman
Reviewed in the United States on March 20, 2014
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This is the third book of Mara's I've read, and I have to say I enjoyed it as much as the other titles. Her generation-x stream of consciousness prose is continued in this book as she examines the meaning of giving birth to a modern, highly educated, elite woman. It was fun to follow the author on her ambivalent journey from having nightmares about being pregnant to hearing from other woman who described being covered in baby poop as "The best part of my life" through her insightful and contemporary metaphors. Once again, a process other females may view as inherent to being a 'woman' Mara researches with the detached witticism of someone pursuing their second PHD. Overall, I recommend this book as being a fun read, clever and tastefully broaching the often taboo subject of a healthy couple who may choose not to have children.
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