Fierce LGBTQ+ Memoir about wanting a baby and getting cancer instead. told with clarity and hope.

‘a personal but universal story of hope.’

— FOREWORD REVIEWS, SEPT/OCT 2022

Cheryl and her partner, CC, are thirty-something Angelenos who are excited to become moms. Cheryl is prepared to shoot herself up with fertility drugs, fill out reams of adoption paperwork, whatever it takes. Like so many good middle-class girls, she was raised to believe she could do anything if she just worked hard enough. She's not prepared for all the ways that miscarrying twins will crack her open, strain her marriage, and reignite grief from her mother's cancer death years earlier. Strangely, these events do prepare her—a little bit—for her own breast cancer diagnosis at age 35, and for the emotional roller coaster of the open adoption process. Empathic, lucid, and often humorous, Crybaby is a memoir of a failed perfectionist and successful hypochondriac. In pursuing queer motherhood, Cheryl begins to redefine it, and redefine herself. 

Empathetic, candid, and refreshingly humorous, Crybaby is the story of what happens when a failed perfectionist and successful hypochondriac is forced to make room in her life for grief and joy, fear and hope, all at the same time.

About the Author

Cheryl E. Klein is the author of two works of fiction, The Commuters (City Works Press) and Lilac Mines (Manic D Press). Her stories and essays have appeared in Blunderbuss Magazine, The Normal School, and several anthologies. Klein writes and edits for MUTHA Magazine and blogs about the intersection of life, art, and carbohydrates at breadandbread.blogspot.com. She lives in Los Angeles with her partner and son. Klein can be found on Instagram: @cherylekleinwrites.

PRAISE FOR THE BOOK

“A propulsive memoir about living through cancer, infertility, and adoption that weaves its experiences into a cohesive whole, resulting in a personal but universal story of hope. ”

— FOREWORD REVIEWS

“The [book’s] raw emotionality lands like a gut punch. Readers who have dealt with infertility or the adoption process will find this hits very close to home.”

— PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY

“Crybaby depicts obstacles of the body, from miscarriage to cancer. Along the way, a triumph of the soul emerges.”

— JESSICA ZUCKER, author of I Had a Miscarriage A Memoir, a Movement

“In this fiercely honest, sharply observed memoir diving into the tumult of relationships, living with cancer, infertility, longing, loss, and complicated hope, Cheryl E. Klein surfaces with insights bright and beautiful as sea glass.”

— SHIRA SPECTOR, author of Red Rock Baby Candy

“Crybaby is a wild ride through waves of lovehood, sickhood, motherhood, and humanhood.”

— SUSAN STRAIGHT, author of In the Country of Women

“I’m grateful to Cheryl Klein for being real about all the messy emotions tied to the strange and powerful desire for a child. I found myself rooting wildly for Klein—and for everyone daring to take on such a common human experience from their most uncommon queer lives.”

— MICHELLE TEA, author of Knocking Myself Up: A Memoir of (In)Fertility

“Crybaby is a story of perseverance, of understanding, of showing up—for oneself and for one another. I felt my own body move with the turn of a page.”

— MIAH JEFFRA, author of The Violence Almanac

“Cheryl E. Klein’s superpower is knowing herself. Reading Crybaby felt like hanging out with a very good friend.”

— ANDREA ASKOWITZ, author of My Miserable, Lonely, Lesbian Pregnancy

“Crybaby is a visceral roller coaster of love, unexpected health challenges (that would have broken most women), and a rocky road to motherhood.”

— NEFERTITI AUSTIN, author of Motherhood So White: A Memoir of Race, Gender, and Parenting in America

“A beautiful and rare act of storytelling that will make you feel less alone, and will make you laugh. A gorgeous book!”

— JEN PASTILOFF, author of On Being Human