Beyond One: Growing a Family and Getting a Life

Though it may seem that life can’t change much more after your first child, many parents are in for a shock when they realize having another does not merely mean ordering two Happy Meals instead of one. In the words of Alice Walker, “With one you can move. With more than one you’re a sitting duck.” Beyond One is for parents with growing families what Anne Lamott’s Operating Instructions is for the novice. Most parenting books are written for first-timers, yet the addition of a second or third child raises wholly different concerns. Already proficient parents no longer need to read about baby care. They’re worried about sibling rivalry, and also about themselves. How, they wonder, will having another affect my marriage, work, and friendships? Will I have enough love for two? How will I manage them? Will I ever get my old body back now that I’m buying family-size everything and have so little time to exercise? And what about sex? In Beyond One, Jennifer Bingham Hull chronicles the first three years of life with two children, providing tips, insights, and plenty of comic relief for parents who not only want to grow a family, but get a life.