Half Baked: The Story of my Nerves, My Newborn, and How we Both Learned to Breathe

Author of the Flotsam blog and contributor to NPR's Morning Edition, Stevenson's witty takes on life and parenthood have won her many fans. With her first book, the self-admitted worrier recalls one of the scariest and most painful times in her life. After going through the ups and downs of in vitro fertilization, she becomes pregnant with twins only to lose one and prematurely deliver the other, Simone, a girl, who is immediately placed in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. With candor and clarity, Stevenson details the harrowing ordeal of watching her daughter fight for her life, slowly get better, and finally breath on her own. Her story is not for the faint hearted and she meticulously chronicles Simone's every step forward and back, revealing a profound experience that imparted the author with hard-earned wisdom and changed her forever. Her favorite quote – "it is only possible to live happily ever after on a day-to-day basis" – is fitting, given that she spent several months wondering if Simone, now a healthy two year old, would have another day. (Aug.)