Bear With Me: What They Don't Tell You About Pregnancy and New Motherhood

Toronto comedy writer/performer Diane Flacks has written a frank and funny account of her pregnancy and the first months with her newborn. In the twenty-first century, it is hard to imagine that having a baby is still shrouded in secrecy and mythology. And yet many women go through their pregnancy with a sense of isolation and without an outlet to express their fears, doubts, and wonder. There is so much more to pregnancy than What to Expect When You’re Expecting. In Bear With Me, readers will discover the truth about pregnancy – poignantly and hilariously. It is important to know how Dr. Sears suggests you work a nasal aspirator, but how do you get through your thirtieth day of morning sickness without shooting someone?! Diane Flacks, who has written for Kids in the Hall and appeared with the Royal Canadian Air Farce, is open about her own experiences: dealing with hormonal mood swings and a changing body image, sex with a burgeoning belly, what really happens in the labour room, and (horror of horrors) becoming your mom. Flacks is witty, urbane, and refreshingly honest. In Bear With Me readers will find a voice that welcomes, does not judge or hide, and will make you laugh out loud.

About the Author :
Diane Flacks is a Toronto writer, performer, speaker, and comedienne, known for her edgy sense of humour. She has written for Kids in the Hall, appeared with the Royal Canadian Air Farce and in the hit play The Vagina Monologues. This is her first book.

Review :
“How do lesbians do it? With three Palm pilots to juggle the sperm donor date, some Italian porn for him, Aretha Franklin for them, and skip the turkey baster. Motherhood, through the eyes of the wickedly funny Diane Flacks, is a tender and tumultuous trip. If pregnancy has ever crossed your mind, you need Diane. She made me remember, ache, shriek with laughter, well up with mushiness. Her anecdotes are voyeuristically frank and liberatingly unconventional. And her wisdom is crisp: ‘You are a mother. Therefore you are technically a lunatic.’ (We should all be this crazy).” –Michele Landsberg “I’ve noticed that women tell their birth stories like old men tell their war stories: ‘I was in Vimy Ridge when my water broke…’ Diane Flacks has written a hugely entertaining and hilarious memoir of having her baby and trying to understand what just happened. Bear With Me reminds us of how important it is to keep our sense of humour through it all.” –Bruce McCulloch, Kids In the Hall “Bear With Me is a wonderful book – entertaining, informative, full of wisdom and laugh-out-loud hilarious! The conception to birth of baby Eli is quite the journey. It boggles the mind that both Diane and her partner Janis were trying to conceive simultaneously – so strong was their desire to have a child in their lives. The writing in this book is rich, passionate, and candid – a real tour de force. Remarkable when you consider that a woman’s brain shrinks when she becomes pregnant! As one of Canada’s most talented writer/comediennes, Diane Flacks will go on to write many more ‘little miracles.’ And maybe even have another baby…” – Luba Goy, Royal Canadian Air Farce