Kid Gloves is a graphic memoir that describes Lucy and John Knisley's attempts to get pregnant and have a healthy baby. Knisley takes us through "The First Try" which led to a miscarriage, then on to a second miscarriage and corrective surgery. When she finally gets pregnant and is able to continue safely, the chapters are amusingly titled "The Foul First", when she gets extremely nauseated and sick, "The Sleepy Second", and "The Eternal Third". These are followed by "The Birth Story" and "Coming Home". Prefacing sections of her story, Knisley provides candid, straightforward (but never dry) research segments, such as historical misconceptions about women's physiology, "Miscarriage Misconceptions", "Conception Misconceptions", "Pregnancy Superstitions", "Not Having Kids", "The Historical Preggo", and "Birth Class." The research sections nicely set up the memoir sections, giving the reader some context and background, as well as dispelling some harmful misconceptions.

Knisley has the gift of truly seeing the humor in her situation, never taking herself too seriously to give us a frank, honest look at what she went through, and how she and John felt. We share their sadness and her physical pain over the two miscarriages, her successful conception only to suffer a terrible first trimester, the difficulties of poorly communicating doctors, even to the point of risking her survival. Knisley has pre-eclampsia, a condition most of us learned of from Lady Sybil's tragic birth scene in Downton Abbey. Knisley tried to alert her doctor to the symptoms that appeared to check all the boxes, but he blithely ignored her.

Knisley shares stranger's, friend's, and family's reactions throughout, in a deeply honest way. Whether you have lived through miscarriage or pregnancy (as I have), or supported family or friends through the process, this book really is for everyone. While Knisley always had a desire to have a family, she shares how her husband came around to this choice himself. She also frankly discusses those who firmly wish to never reproduce, for all sorts of reasons, presented in a non-judgmental way. Knisley speaks to the chasm that exists in our culture between those who choose a child-free life, and those who opt for children. She asks why we have to separate ourselves into different camps, as though our choice is a negative judgement of others' choice.

I highly recommend Kid Gloves. You'll learn a lot, and appreciate what women go through, the risks, discomforts, and joys, in all their conception and non-conception choices.