The Motherload by Sarah Hoover

What happens when What to Expect When You're Expecting turns out to be

nothing like what you actually experience?

In The Motherload, Sarah Hoover offers a fearless, funny, and deeply honest

account of early motherhood, one that challenges the myth of instant maternal

bliss. Instead of immediate joy, she found herself navigating postpartum

depression, anxiety, rage, brain fog, and the painful loss of identity, intimacy,

and career. As she writes with her signature wit, her newborn was "objectively

a tiny worm, even worse, a worm with my nose."

With remarkable candor and humor, Hoover explores the gap between the

stories women are told about motherhood and the reality many experience but

few feel free to discuss. Despite a loving partner, professional success, and

access to support, she found herself in a profound struggle that ultimately led

to a diagnosis of severe postpartum depression.

At its heart, The Motherload is a powerful memoir about letting go of

impossible expectations, embracing imperfection, and finding compassion for

yourself when life unfolds differently than planned. It's a moving,

thought-provoking, and ultimately hopeful conversation starter about

motherhood, identity, mental health, and the courage to tell the truth.

Whether you're a parent, hope to become one, or simply enjoy compelling

memoirs about resilience and self-discovery, we hope you'll join us for an

engaging discussion of this unforgettable book.

Bios:

Sarah Hoover

After earning degrees from NYU and Columbia, Sarah Hoover built a career in

the art world before turning full time to writing. Her essays on motherhood,

identity, and cultural expectations have appeared in Vogue, The Wall Street

Journal, Psychology Today, The Strategist, Elle, and Harper’s Bazaar amongst

many others. In early 2025, she released her critically acclaimed, unflinching

memoir The Motherload: Episodes from the Brink of Motherhood, an instant

national bestseller, January 2025 Belletrist Book Club pick, and Times (UK)

Book of the Week. The deeply personal and darkly funny critique of modern

motherhood, which is currently in development at 20th Century Fox as an

ongoing television series, has been praised by Oprah Daily as “a long overdue

reality check” and was featured on the Today Show, The View, Morning Joe and

more. Hoover lives in Manhattan with her husband and two kids.

Misty C. Richards, MD, MS

Dr. Misty Richards, Associate Professor, is a child, adult, and reproductive

psychiatrist at UCLA who holds a joint appointment in the Division of Child and

Adolescent Psychiatry and the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. She

serves as the Program Director for the UCLA Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Fellowship and is highly involved in medical student education as the Co-Chair

of the UCLA DGSOM Medical Education Committee. Clinically, Dr. Richards

serves as the Director of Infant Mental Health of the UCLA Maternal Mental

Health Intensive Outpatient Program and is also the Co-Founder and Medical

Director of Perinatal Psychiatry for the Maternal Outpatient Mental health

Services (MOMS) Clinic in the Department of OB-GYN. She is a passionate