A JOURNEY TOWARD RECOVERY -- THROUGH THE RAIN

From the moment that Brooke Shields and her husband began the journey toward parenthood, nothing was easy. Undergoing fertility treatments and IVF, suffering a miscarriage, and then experiencing a very difficult delivery with first child Rowan seemingly set the stage for what came next.

In Down Came the Rain: My Journey Through Postpartum Depression, Shields describes her experiences and the overwhelming feelings that almost turned her life into a horror film. She talks frankly about how she came to accept that she was suffering from postpartum depression, a very real medical condition, and how she finally took the necessary steps to recover (with the help of medication and therapy).

When examined in the context of her life at the time, from the difficulties toward conception and the losses she had suffered—deaths of a good friend and also her father—the stage seemed set for the disastrous postpartum period. Further, she was unable to exercise at first, due to complications in the birth process, and had to also adjust to a dramatically different lifestyle.

Shields described her recovery process in some detail, and in the last portion of the book, she also shares how she finally begins to balance her work and parenting roles.

The book was easy to read and relatable: an honest and straightforward portrayal of a condition that could descend upon anyone. Four stars.