The Motherload

Episodes from the Brink of Motherhood

By: Sarah Hoover

Write A Review

Paperback | 21 May 2026

At a Glance

Paperback
352 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
21.27 x 13.97 x 2.29

Paperback

RRP $39.99

$27.75

31%OFF

or 4 interest-free payments of $6.94 with

Ships in 10 to 15 business days

NATIONAL BESTSELLER

Belletrist Book Club Pick * The Times (London) Book of the Week

“Essential reading for anyone who’s felt failed by the parental canon.” —Town & Country

“An honest and refreshing take on motherhood.” —Today

“With blistering honesty” (Oprah Daily), this nationally bestselling motherhood memoir dares to ask what happens when “what to expect when you’re expecting” turns out to be months of rage, anguish, brain fog, and a total surrender of sex, career, and identity.

Like most of us, Sarah Hoover grew up imagining a certain life for herself, and when she moved from Indiana to New York City to study art history, the life she’d imagined began falling into place. She got her degree in art history, landed a job in a gallery, made friends, and met interesting artists, one of whom became her husband. But when Hoover got pregnant, everything in her life began to unravel.

She felt like an imposter in her own body. She grew distant from her friends and husband. Anxiety, fear, guilt, and shame threatened to swallow her. She also experienced trauma at the hands of one of her doctors—a stark trigger. And when her son was born, there was no joy.

Her despair was persistent, even with help, therapy, and pills. Grieving a lost identity and angry at the world around her, she found herself despising her baby, her husband, and herself. She was afraid it might not end. With the help of a doctor’s diagnosis, Hoover began to understand the cluster of symptoms that informed her experience—she was drowning in postpartum depression—and that she wasn’t a bad mother or a failed woman.

At its core, this “page-turning look at the realities of motherhood and postpartum depression” (Candace Bushnell, New York Times bestselling author) is about learning to forgive yourself. It’s a rejection of the cultural idea of the mother as a perfect being. And it’s a propulsive and whip-smart “welcome moment of truth” (W Magazine) on the vicissitudes of marriage, life, and parenting—a motherhood memoir unlike any other.

Shipping

	Standard Shipping	Express Shipping
Metro postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95
Regional postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95
Rural postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95

Orders over $79.00 qualify for free shipping.

How to return your order

At Booktopia, we offer hassle-free returns in accordance with our returns policy. If you wish to return an item, please get in touch with Booktopia Customer Care.

Additional postage charges may be applicable.