Once upon a time, getting hitched and making babies was regarded as the pursuit of fine, upstanding heterosexual folk. Gay people were relegated to twilight, criminal worlds. But then something happened, as civil rights for lesbian, gay, bi and trans people began to be established, things began to change.

Civil partnerships and new laws granting access to fertility treatment for lesbians and single women mean that now we too can take part in activities that were previously restricted from us, we are free to settle down and reproduce as much as we please, apparently. It's as though the gay world has had a makeover, it's gone from sleazy doorways to soft pastels.

This is where Andrea Askowitz comes in, her first book, My Miserable, Lonely, Lesbian Pregnancy is a funny, snarky, whiny trudge through the reality of baby-making. It's an antidote to pink and blue cot sets and the new mythology that pregnancy is the happiest and most fulfilling time of a woman's life.

I'm surprised that Askowitz has left it so late to spawn her first book because her writing is very smart. She's been compared to the venerated queer essayists David Sedaris and Augusten Burroughs, which is pretty flattering, and she's been immersed in the South Florida literary scene for a while.

Aside from publishing short works all over the place and being an adjunct professor of creative non-fiction at Florida International University, Askowitz is the co-producer of Lip Service, a literary event that celebrates true stories, read out loud. But there you go, let's be grateful that she's now publishing her own books, and that a second, Crazy Nanny is in the works.

My Miserable, Lonely, Lesbian Pregnancy is, more or less, what it says it is. Askowitz describes her 40 weeks and five days in hell, taking in morning sickness, ante-natal classes, hormones gone crazy, and poor body image along the way. Our intrepid pregnant protagonist is also horribly lonely, her friends and family live thousands of miles away and she's stuck in Los Angeles, with a bump that's getting bigger by the day.

A couple of things raise this memoir above its competition. Firstly, Askowitz' prose is really funny and raw. Her humour is the laughter of recognition, even in those readers who are not planning to procreate any time soon. One must applaud her decision to present herself in her entire warts-and-all glory, including a bout of constipation.

Secondly, My Miserable, Lonely, Lesbian Pregnancy works its subplots beautifully. The author is reeling from a recent break-up; her parents are struggling to come to terms with the fact that they have a single, pregnant lesbian for a daughter; Askowitz' friends are a pain in the you-know-what. Without these, the book could have been monotonous, but these parallel stories keep you turning the pages, it's an intimate experience, a window into someone's life, and you really want to know what happens next.

Read our interview with Andrea Askowitz.

My Miserable Lonely Lesbian Pregnancy, by Andrea Askowitz
Published by: Cleis
Released: 22 May 2008
ISBN: 1573443158

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