title: Maybe Baby: 28 Writers Tell the Truth About Skepticism, Infertility, Baby Lust, Childlessness, Ambivalence, and How They Made the Biggest Decision of Their Lives
author: Lori Leibovich
description: Inspired by a letter written to Salon.com requesting more stories about people who chose not to have children, senior editor Leibovich brought together a broad spectrum of writers to create a refreshing, sometimes painful, collection of essays in which, to quote the subtitle, "28 Writers Tell the Truth About Skepticism, Infertility, Baby Lust, Childlessness, Ambivalence, and How They Made the Biggest Decision of Their Lives." Lionel Shriver celebrates her adults-only existence in "The Baby Stops Here"; Amy Richards goes through the seldom-discussed procedure of "selective reduction" in "Triple Threat"; and Kathryn Harrison cares for her dying grandmother as well as her newborn daughter in the beautiful "Cradle to Grave." Other standout essays include Neal Pollack's, defending his right to have only one child (his response to the often-voiced concern "Won't he be spoiled if he's the only one?" is "Not with our credit card debt"), and Rick Moody's, revealing his early-in-life assessment of children as "bloodthirsty dwarves." This bittersweet anthology is the perfect antidote to readers tired of the number of books lauding child-rearing and its many joys. <i>(Apr.)</i> <br />Copyright  Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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  ## [Acknowledgments](9780062447708_Contents.xhtml#r_idParaDest-132)
  
  
  THEY SAY BREVITY IS the soul of wit, but it is not the soul of
  acknowledgments—or at least not mine. A book is a journey of a thousand
  thanks. I will aim to keep mine under a hundred.
  
  
  Sometimes, when two people love each other, they create a beautiful little
  bundle called a book. There would be no bundle without Melissa Miller, who,
  after helping me coax Mia Rose into the world, birthed an actual human child.
  She’s prolific! Huge thanks to my publisher Katherine Tegen, our gracious
  matriarch, for championing this story, and to Kate Jackson and Suzanne Murphy
  for being the best surrogate moms. Alex Arnold, my brilliant editor: the heart
  of this tale bloomed during our epic phone calls. Thank you for helping me
  nurture HoT into the bouncing baby book it is today.
  
  
  Have I used up all the midwife metaphors? Alas.
  
  
  Thanks to Kirby Kim for opening the door to a world I’ve always dreamed of.
  Kelsey Horton, I owe you 