The Blue Jay's Dance: A Memoir of Early Motherhood

bought it for my pregnant daughter whose husband is an ojibwe canadian. not sure if she read it yet, but i did and i enjoyed it. i had thought it was about the birth of ms. erdrich's youngest daughter , but actually it was a much older book talking about her older 3 daughters' births. sadly her late husband michael dorris is mentioned and his suicide is in the future.

This is by far the best book I've ever read on the emotional struggles and rewards of mothering. The Blue Jay's Dance is full of poetic descriptions that are so powerful you feel like you are there with the author, watching through her eyes. This book changed the way I see the world, my children and myself. I highly recommend Louise Erdrich. Her books are meticulously researched and written from more than one point of view.

Not what I expected - I was hoping for something with more discussion of the nuanced relationship between mother and child. There's a lot of beautiful prose about the seasons and the baby, but I wanted something more relatable to me as a first time mom. I read Great With Child (highly recommended) as well and that was much more what I was looking for.

I have recommended this book to several female friends in order to get a report on how it was received. Not being able to carry out the reproduction exercise I can only say- WOW it gave me a new positive perspective on motherhood.

I highly recommend this book as a real account of what it's like to be a new mother. Buy it for all the moms in your life, it makes a great Baby Shower or Mother's Day gift. Erdrich is engaging, funny, poignant, and captures the beauty of that first year with your child.

I love all of Louise Erdrich’s fiction books so it was fun to read this too. Great book, I would recommend to new parents

terrific little book ! i lapped up every word--then sent it to a native american friend who's pregnant and she adored it ! one of my favorite erdrich books !

Purchased as a gift for a new mom.💙