I was not expecting a lot out of this book, but was I surprised! There is no mumbo-jumbo new age writing here. There are no flowery advice or beating around the bush (the book is about 100 pages). Some stories are heartbreaking--women are told to hurry up or worse, that they don't know what they're talking about. This book has made me more determined to go with a natural, episiotomy-free birth. Pain is a given, but I'm going to re-read it a few weeks before I deliver.