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This is a slim volume, one extended anecdote from a life, that will later be developed in to a larger memoir. As it is, this is a true gem of a book with much greater application than the summary indicates. Ms. Gritz was diagnosed in childhood with Cerebral Palsy. Her type of CP effects only one side of her body, giving her typical gait and strength on her left side and spastic gait and less strength on her right side. Throughout her childhood, Ms. Gritz's parents emphasized that her handicap was minimal and that, with extra effort, she would achieve typical goals. However, motherhood is not a "typical" goal for anyone and, for an individual with physical challenges, having a child is more of a test. Married to a man without handicaps, Ms. Gritz expresses issues in self esteem: am I good enough, strong enough, capable enough? Clearly, this is more of an issue for someone with a disability, but is there a new mother alive who hasn't asked these same questions of herself? Once young Ethan was born -- and her description of her child is purely and elegantly lyrical -- she must cope with his care on her own and she learns that her "minimal" challenges are more disconcerting than she thought. However, there is a common thread even in these descriptions. Trying to find a comfortable position for breastfeeding in which she can support Ethan, Ms. Gritz struggles with extra pillows, different angles, and bad advice from a nurse who doesn't ascribe to "on demand" feeding. This took me back to the lactation specialist who took my infant daughter's head and slammed it into my breast when she failed to "latch." Through the early months of her son's life, you see the factors that shaped Ms. Gritz: a hyper-critical mother who says "you can do it," but then does it herself; a husband who doesn't seem to "get" the emotional roller coaster of post partum hormones or the insecurity of becoming the center of a child's life. All of this personal conflict and trauma is expressed beautifully because the author is, by vocation, a poet and her prose resonates with poetic descriptions. Although this is a slim volume, it would seem to be an excellent choice for a new mother's discussion group (or perhaps BECAUSE it is a slim volume. Who, as a new mother, has time to read?) To that end, discussion questions are provided in the book's back matter, but they are actually redundant. Anyone who can't come up with something to say about this book is suffering from post-partum sleep depravation. Of course, "On the Whole" should be a must-read for mothers with disabilities who feel isolated from the new community of mothers by their differences. However, there is probably not a mother among us who cannot nod, relate, and perhaps even get misty over the memories of those traumatic first days when another life became your responsibility.