Beyond One: Growing a Family and Getting a Life Book

Some practical advice but mainly provides a perspective on what having two children vs. one is actually like - especially for a writer and current mother of one like me!

I do disagree with some of the other reviewers who say that the book is "nothing special," or that the author seems disingenuous and negative about the experience/choice of having a second. Given how few books there are on the parenting shelves about #2 and that this book is well-written and clearly a compilation of essays (not instructional), I'm finding it straightforward and valuable. The author does cover the challenges she experienced (in what I think is an honest way - not maudlin or complaining) but has not at all left me with the sense that she has not enjoyed her choice. She relates the lessons she's learned along the way so that, perhaps, some of the rest of us going down her path can skip a couple of them ourselves! I certainly was considerably more fed up with the piles of books on having your first that either sugarcoat it or make it sound like it will be more complicated and painful than building your own jet. (Ahem: What to Expect When You're Expecting...)

Anyway, surveying the other options, I think this is a solid read if you're considering expanding your family.