All that We Ask of You Is to Always Be Happy

"In All that We Ask of You Is to Always Be Happy, Bridget Bell dismantles myths surrounding motherhood, offering a poignant and unflinchingly honest portrayal of the struggles faced by women around the world. Through a striking use of various poetic forms, from the sonnet to the found poem, she sheds light on the physical and emotional challenges of childbirth, postpartum depression, and the complex realities of motherhood. She writes: “We are not mothers. We wear the mother mask.” The words resonate deeply, urging readers to question prevailing narratives. She writes: “There was no pain. The pain was everything.” I was shaken by both the beauty and the brutal honesty of these poems. In the end, Bell explains that to speak against the lie is the way to survive. “You are not alone,” she writes, “Everywhere there is a woman awake with you.” All that We Ask of You Is to Always Be Happy is a powerful testament to the resilience of women and a vital addition to contemporary poetry collections." -- Blas Falconer, author of 'Rara Avis'
"I read Bridget Bell’s All that We Ask of You Is to Always Be Happy with my whole mouth open, stunned by the harrowing precision and striking lyrical prowess with which she throws us into the hellish reality of perinatal mood disorders. Fearless and frank, these poems belong to everyone navigating the splintering terror of new parenthood. Bridget Bell is the best friend you need, the voice you can trust to give you the whole truth: “I whisper, You have changed everything, / and I hate you for it. Then shame / and its thorny arms.” I wish I’d had this book when my child was born. Everything would’ve been more bearable." -- Eugenia Leigh, author of 'Bianca'
"My god, the relief, to know reality / is reality,” writes Bridget Bell about her passage through postpartum depression to a new identity as a mother. What is often dismissed as “baby blues” here is explored in harrowing, thorough lyrics. Bell sings a song about motherhood, that extraordinary event of body and mind, and about her traumatic survival from PPD, an experience more common than acknowledged and seldom written about so vividly. Full of difficult and beautiful poems, this book is a must read because “[e]verywhere, there is a woman awake with you." -- Connie Voisine, author of 'The Bower'