A Conversation with Author, and Mom-To-Be, Jennifer Weiner
By Kyra De
Blaker
Philadelphia
Author Jennifer Weiner has it all. Weiner is a successful author with not
one, but two books receiving critical acclaim. Weiner’s first book, Good
in Bed, was recently optioned as an HBO series to be set in the
Philadelphia
area. And Weiner’s second book, In Her Shoes, will soon be available for viewing on “The Big
Screen.” (The book is currently being adapted into a screen play.) And
while there is no word on who will play Weiner’s classic characters,
Cannie, Rose and Maggie, we do know what Weiner’s next big role will
be…Mom!
Jennifer
Weiner and husband, Adam, are expecting their first child in April. I sat
down with Jennifer, a few weeks before her due date, to get her take on
impending motherhood, raising a child in the city and, most importantly,
sleep.
Curious
Parents: First things first, how do you plan on juggling parenting and
writing?
Jennifer
Weiner:
Heh. Don't they say that plans are jokes that we tell God? But right now I'm
planning on finishing the draft of my third book prior to my due date,
taking three months off after the baby comes, doing absolutely nothing but
getting to know the little bugger and figuring out how to feed her. After
three months I'll be with the baby in the mornings and having someone come
in a few afternoons a week so I can get some writing done. But I'm also
planning on being flexible. If it turns out I need more help, or can get
by with less, I'll make those adjustments as I go.
CP:
Tell us, What are you working on now? Will motherhood affect or alter what
you are working on?
JW:
Right now I am finishing up a book called JEZEBEL
BRIGHT. It's about a woman going through a divorce who learns that
she's the descendent of a Greek goddess, and has to go on a quest to save
the mother she always believed was dead. It's something of a departure
from my first two books, and it's a lot more violent. And it's been kind
of strange to spend a few hours working on a scene where a woman cuts a
guy's tongue off with a razor blade to reading What to Expect While You're
Expecting. It's hard to say whether motherhood will change what, or how, I write, but it's definitely made me think a lot
about when -- if ever! -- I'll let my child, or children, read my books!
CP:
Your first two books are set primarily in Philadelphia, the city you’ve
come to call home. How do you feel about raising a child in the city? More
specifically, Philadelphia?
JW:
I'm really excited about raising a child in Philadelphia
because it's such a great city to walk in, and
there's such a wonderful sense of community. In preparing for pregnancy my
husband and I took a nine-week natural childbirth course, and I did
prenatal yoga, so I met a bunch of really interesting women who are all
due right around the same time I am, and we've already started making
plans for play groups and reunions and get-togethers. And I love that I'll
be able to put my baby in a sling or in a stroller and walk to so many
wonderful places -- playgrounds and museums and coffee shops and parks,
and music classes and yoga classes and everything else you could want. Plus, we'll be able to walk to the pediatrician's office! I think if
I lived in a suburb it would be such a major undertaking to pile
everything in the car and get out the door that I'd wind up being
housebound and lonely, whereas living downtown, I really hope to spend a
lot of time with the baby out and about.
CP:
What are your thoughts on some of the classes that are available to help
new moms prepare for childbirth and motherhood?
JW:
My husband and I were very happy with our Bradley class, just because of
the sheer volume of information, and all the things we learned. Whether or
not our birth goes the way we're hoping it will (no pain medication,
minimal interventions), I think we both feel good that we've learned
everything we can and at least know how to ask the right questions. Other
than that, I took three classes at
Pennsylvania
Hospital
-- breastfeeding, Infant CPR and Baby Care
Basics. They were all very informative, although breastfeeding sure seems
a lot more complicated than it ought to be.
CP:
Knowing that so many moms-to-be try so hard to be prepared, I’ll ask the
question -- are you prepared? Do you feel prepared?
JW:
Some days I feel completely ready, like I've got everything under control
and I'm just ready to have the baby already....and other days I feel
terrified, like there are still a million things I have to buy or learn or
figure out (like our car seat, for starters!) and that I'm never going to
be ready.
CP:
All moms want to tell new moms about motherhood and what they can expect
or do to prepare. What is the best piece of advice you've heard thus far?
The worst?
JW:
I guess I won't know what's good advice and what's useless until the baby
is actually here. The piece of advice I seem to be getting a lot of from
my friends who are already mothers is, "take naps. NOW!" This is
always delivered in the most sober, dire-warning kind of tone you could
imagine -- the same tone you'd use, I think, to tell someone to take cover
during an air raid. So I'm trying to take it to heart and get as much
sleep as I can.
And
the worst advice, to be perfectly honest, was, "if you're even
thinking about trying to have kids, you should start trying immediately
because you never know how long it'll take." Well, in my case, I now
know how long it'll take: one month. Given the experiences of a bunch of
my friends I'd planned on conception taking six months, minimum, and I'd
even set up an appointment with a high-risk obstetrician just to make sure
there weren't any physical problems. By the time the appointment rolled
around I was already eight weeks pregnant and about to embark on a
sixteen-city book tour. My mother -- who had four kids -- was very amused.
"What made you think you'd have trouble?" she demanded.
"Are you CRAZY!!?!"
Look
for Jennifer Weiner’s Books, Good in Bed and In Her Shoes,
in stores now.
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