Loved and Wanted - A Memoir of Choice, Children, and Womanhood

'Haunting, wild, and quiet at once. A shimmering look at motherhood, in all gothic pain and glory. I could not stop reading.' Lisa Taddeo, author of Three Women

A harrowing account of one woman's reckoning with life, death and choice in Trump's America. For readers of Educated and Hillbilly Elegy.

In 2017, Christa Parravani had recently moved her family from California to West Virginia. Surviving on a teacher's salary, she was already raising two young children with her husband, screenwriter Anthony Swofford.

Another pregnancy, a year after giving birth to her second child, came as a shock. Christa had a history of ectopic pregnancies and was worried that she wouldn't be able to find adequate medical care. She immediately requested a termination - but her doctor refused to help. The only doctor who would perform an abortion made it clear that this would be illicit, not condoned by her colleagues or their community.

In exploring her own choice, or rather in discovering her lack of it, Christa reveals the desperate state of female healthcare in contemporary America.

'A brutally honest, rollercoaster of a journey that left me championing her bravery.' Esther Freud

'I will never forget this book. Read it. This is all I can say.' Rachel Louise Snyder

'Stunningly good' The Bookseller

'Everyone should read this book' Sarah Mansugo

About the author

Christa Parravani is the bestselling author of Her: A Memoir. Her writing has appeared in Vogue, The New York Times, Marie Claire, Glamour, The Washington Post, The London Times, The Daily Mail, and The Guardian, among other places. Parravani has received fellowships from MacDowell and Yaddo. She is assistant professor of Creative Writing at West Virginia University and lives in Pittsburgh, PA.

Summary

A harrowing account of one woman's reckoning with life, death and choice. For readers of Educated, Hillbilly Elegy and Three Women.

Foreword

'Haunting, wild, and quiet at once. A shimmering look at motherhood, in all gothic pain and glory. I could not stop reading.' Lisa Taddeo, author of Three Women

Product details

• Authors: Christa Parravani
• Publisher: Bonnier Zaffre
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 30.11.2020
• EAN: 9781786580542
• ISBN: 978-1-78658-054-2
• No. of pages: 224
• Dimensions: 144 mm x 222 mm x 24 mm
• Weight: 346 g
• Subjects: Fiction > Narrative literature > Letters, diaries; Non-fiction book > Politics, society, business > Biographies, autobiographies; Biography & True Stories, BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Women, BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / General, Autobiography: general, Memoirs, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Abortion & Birth Control, FAMILY & RELATIONSHIPS / Parenting / Motherhood, True stories: general, Women’s health, Parenting: advice and issues, Feminism and feminist theory, Gender studies: women and girls, True stories of discovery, Ethical issues: abortion and birth control, Medical and healthcare law, Subject matter intended specifically for women and/or girls, BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Memoirs