Knocking Myself Up

A Memoir of My (In)Fertility

By: Michelle Tea

Narrated by: Michelle Tea

From PEN/America Award winner, 2021 Guggenheim fellow, and beloved literary and tarot icon Michelle Tea, the hilarious, powerfully written, taboo-breaking story of her journey to pregnancy and motherhood as a 40 year-old, queer, uninsured woman

Written in intimate, gleefully TMI prose, Knocking Myself Up is the irreverent account of Tea’s route to parenthood—with a group of ride-or-die friends, a generous drag queen, and a whole lot of can-do pluck. Along the way she falls in love with a wholesome genderqueer a decade her junior, attempts biohacking herself a baby with black market fertility meds (and magicking herself an offspring with witch-enchanted honey), learns her eggs are busted, and enters the Fertility Industrial Complex in order to carry her younger lover’s baby.

With the signature sharp wit and wild heart that have made her a favorite to so many readers, Tea guides us through the maze of medical procedures, frustrations and astonishments on the path to getting pregnant, wryly critiquing some of the systems that facilitate that choice (“a great, punk, daredevil thing to do”). In Knocking Myself Up, Tea has crafted a deeply entertaining and profound memoir, a testament to the power of love and family-making, however complex our lives may be, to transform and enrich us.

Hilarious and Tender

I wish I had had this book when my partner and I were trying for our first kid back in 2009. Sigh. It’s a lonely weird world for queer people to navigate and this book is so so necessary! Loved it loved it loved it.

Wonderful

Enjoyed listening to Tea. Allowed for a look into IUI IVF and my future options. Will probably check out her other texts.

Like listening to a dear friend tell a great story

I absolutely love this book. I listened to it all in one day because I just had to know how it all worked out. And the funny thing is, I already sort of knew! I’m a huge fan of Michelle Tea and have heard parts of this story on her podcast or in articles she’s published, but I still had to hear it all again. It’s a gorgeous, sweet, sometimes heartbreaking, often hilarious story about motherhood, love, the “pregnancy industrial complex” and more, all told through Michelle Tea’s unique, queer, irreverent lense. As a parent and a woman who struggled with getting pregnant (and with being worried over my child’s natal astrology!) I found so much to relate to, but even if you’ve never even considered parenthood there’s so much to love. And hearing Michelle read the story herself adds a layer of gorgeous intimacy that’s hard to not love.

Fun, Cute, and Queer AF!

Michelle is such a great narrator! It's nice to hear a queer baby making story that's fairly light hearted and fun but still honest. You'll binge each chapter up!

Incredible, candid and queer

As a queer person and a parent it can be challenging to find stories that speak to both of those experiences. While my own journey to parenthood was quiet different I felt like I recognized a kindred spirit. What an amazing story.