Second Life

'Unexpected, funny, beautiful' Claire Dederer, author of Monsters: A Fan's Dilemma

By: Amanda Hess

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Paperback | 7 May 2026 | Edition Number 1

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Paperback

Dimensions(cm)
12.7 x 20.0 x 2.1

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$32.75

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'Acutely empathetic, thoroughly researched, funny, irreverent and moving' Observer

'What a book!' Marianne Levy, author of Don't Forget to Scream

'I loved it' Lucy Jones, author of Matrescence

In Second Life, Hess tells her deeply personal story of a pregnancy that falls outside the feted category of 'normal'. But this is also a story about all of us. For as she made her way through a bizarre digital world of pregnancy apps, prenatal genetic tests, gender reveal videos, rare disease Facebook groups, 'freebirth' influencers and hospital reality shows, Hess realised that ideas of eugenics, surveillance, ableism and hyper-individualism are being sold through shiny technologies to a new generation of parents.

Industry Reviews

Acutely empathetic, funny, irreverent and moving - Observer

Second Life is not only a book for parents; it's for anyone intrigued (and concerned) by the ways in which our digital footprints impact the circle of life itself - Elle

Interrogates new lands of contemporary parenthood with nuance, curiosity, smarts and heart

Captures the anxiety and weirdness of reproduction in our modern screen-based, app-oriented culture. Insightful ... very funny - Wall Street Journal

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