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Conceiving Histories : Trying for Pregnancy, Past and Present by Isabel Davis (2025, Hardcover)

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Conceiving Histories : Trying for Pregnancy, Past and Present, Hardcover by Davis, Isabel; Burel, Anna (ILT), ISBN 0262049481, ISBN-13 9780262049481, Brand New, Free shipping in the US "Conceiving Histories brings together history, personal memoir, and illustration to investigate the widely encountered but culturally hidden experience of trying to conceive"--

About this product

Product Identifiers

PublisherMIT Press

ISBN-100262049481

ISBN-139780262049481

eBay Product ID (ePID)19068274178

Product Key Features

Number of Pages304 Pages

LanguageEnglish

Publication NameConceiving Histories : Trying for Pregnancy, Past and Present

SubjectSocial History, Pregnancy & Childbirth, Gynecology & Obstetrics, Sociology / Marriage & Family

Publication Year2025

TypeTextbook

AuthorIsabel Davis

Subject AreaHealth & Fitness, Social Science, History, Medical

FormatHardcover

Dimensions

Item Height1 in

Item Weight32.5 Oz

Item Length10.3 in

Item Width7.4 in

Additional Product Features

Intended AudienceTrade

LCCN2024-017231

Reviews"Davis resists a chronological narrative or overarching argument. She wants to reject the idea that the story of conception has a predictable plot. The dreamy, associative nature of the book sinks the reader into the uncertain and indeterminate state of trying to conceive, of early pregnancy, of miscarriage." - London Review of Books

Dewey Edition23

IllustratedYes

Dewey Decimal618.2

Table Of ContentContents Introduction Annunciations 1 Frogs: What your Sex Ed Never Taught You 2 Pads: How to Join the Bump Club 3 Broody Mary: Narrating the In-Between 4 Wind and Waves: How to Self-Help 5 Credit: How the Money Rolls Out 6 Jeux d'esprit: Testing the Limits 7 Wind-Eggs: Conceiving of Things Conclusion Seeing the Unbecoming Historical Figures Acknowledgments Notes Bibliography Index

SynopsisA fascinating and beautifully illustrated account of trying to conceive in both the past and the present. Inspired by the author's own experiences, Conceiving Histories brings together history, personal memoir, and illustration to investigate the culturally hidden experience of trying to conceive. In elegant, engaging prose, Isabel Davis explores the combination of myth, fantasy, science, and pseudo-science that the (un)reproductive body encounters in pursuit of a viable pregnancy. The book chronicles the trying-to-conceive lifecycle arc from sex education at school, through the desire to be a parent, into the specifics of trying and struggling to conceive. It also looks back at conception throughout history to open a new vista on what we live with today. A central argument of Davis's is that historical people lived with the unknown just like we do but were more explicitly able to acknowledge it. In an age of assistive reproductive technologies, the act of embracing uncertainty seems difficult. Although the topic of not conceiving is potentially painful, this is not a grim book; more than grief, it is motivated by curiosity, wonder, compassion, and even humor. With 108 full-color illustrations, Conceiving Histories is also a beautiful material object, an intentionally playful antidote and supplement to online search engines-the resort of so many embroiled in fertility challenges., A fascinating and beautifully illustrated account of trying to conceive in both the past and the present. Inspired by the author's own experiences, Conceiving Histories brings together history, personal memoir, and illustration to investigate the culturally hidden experience of trying to conceive. In elegant, engaging prose, Isabel Davis explores the combination of myth, fantasy, science, and pseudo-science that the (un)reproductive body encounters in pursuit of a viable pregnancy. The book chronicles the trying-to-conceive lifecycle arc from sex education at school, through the desire to be a parent, into the specifics of trying and struggling to conceive. It also looks back at conception throughout history to open a new vista on what we live with today. A central argument of Davis's is that historical people lived with the unknown just like we do but were more explicitly able to acknowledge it. In an age of assistive reproductive technologies, the act of embracing uncertainty seems difficult. Although the topic of not conceiving is potentially painful, this is not a grim book; more than grief, it is motivated by curiosity, wonder, compassion, and even humor. With 108 full-color illustrations, Conceiving Histories is also a beautiful material object, an intentionally playful antidote and supplement to online search engines--the resort of so many embroiled in fertility challenges.

Illustrated byBurel, Anna

LC Classification NumberRG133.D383 2025