Description: Combining fragments of thought, daydreams, entries from notebooks both real and imaginary, and real-life experiences, Carmen Giménez Smith interrogates everything involved in becoming and being a mother for both the first and second times. She wonders what her children will one day know about her own "secret life," meditates on the physical effects of pregnancy, and questions the myths about, nostalgia for, and glorification of motherhood.
Review Quotes: "A story that is as innovative in form as it is honest in emotion . . . linguistically searing and outrageously smart. . . . Bring Down the Little Birds seems to tip motherhood on its side to expose its brutal-though-beautiful underbelly."--Austin American-Statesman (Best Books of 2010 Selection)
"Giménez Smith writes lyrically . . . [and] does the best thing a writer can do--she trusts her voice. She trusts that her point of view is fresh (it is), that her experiences and analysis are compelling (they are)."--Ms. Magazine "Bring Down the Little Birds is a hyper-shifting collage . . . whose engagement comes from the disciplined interweaving of remembrance and emotion."--Contrary Magazine "Carmen Giménez Smith elevates the motherhood memoir to pure poetry. Who are we, beyond somebody's mother and somebody's daughter? Bring Down the Little Birds dives into all the rich and irritating questions with heart, guts, and humor."--Ariel Gore, author of Bluebird: Women and the New Psychology of Happiness and founder of Hip Mama