"Brave. Compelling. Provocative. " -Gabrielle Union Wade, actress
and New York Times bestselling author In this moving memoir,
Shirley Smith, wife of NBA Champion and All-Star J. R. Smith, tells
the story of giving birth to one of the youngest premature babies
to survive-using her experience to heighten awareness of the crisis
of Black maternal and infant health and pay tribute to Black
women's resilience. Shirley Smith and her husband, NBA champion J.
R. Smith, looked forward to the birth of their second child,
Dakota, as they celebrated New Year's Eve with family at home.
After dinner, Shirley felt a sharp pain that worsened through the
night. Only 21-weeks pregnant, she was in labor. Mama Bear is the
story of her 141-day ordeal, from entering a hospital emergency
room on New Year's morning and giving birth to her premature
newborn, to taking her daughter home for the first time the
following May. In telling her story, written with Zelda Lockhart,
Shirley shines a spotlight on the dangers Black women face during
pregnancy. Black mothers are twice as likely as their white
counterparts to go into labor prematurely and lose their babies-and
almost four times as likely to die giving birth. Neither
socioeconomic status nor access to quality healthcare seem to
matter. Tennis champion Serena Williams experienced
life-threatening complications during childbirth, and Beyonce
suffered toxemia with her premature twins. Shirley chronicles the
emotional and physical battle she and J. R. endured to save their
daughter, and her continual struggles to support her family while
nurturing herself. Like many Black women, Shirley was raised to
believe that pain is a sign of weakness. The one who kept it
together for everybody, she had always put herself second. She
parallels this difficult journey to her childhood growing up with
an addict mother, and having to raise herself and her brother from
a very young age. A chronicle of pain, loss, and infidelity, Mama
Bear is ultimately a story of love-a celebration of community,
family, faith, healing, the maternal bond, and one woman's
indomitable spirit.
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