Eleven Hours

By Pamela Erens,

Book cover of Eleven Hours

Book description

Eleven Hours is a visceral, vital, microcosmic illumination of the most pivotal moment of any woman's life: giving birth. With taut, sensitive prose, Erens explores the lives of two women in New York - one in labour, the other her Haitian midwife - to gracefully reveal the seminal moments that…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked Eleven Hours as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

I’m recommending this book because it is a beautifully written book that centers a universally human event that is overlooked in literature: childbirth.

This book frankly and unflinchingly depicts a harrowing experience of a woman giving birth in a hospital. This book also tells the stories of two very different women—the woman in labor and the labor nurse. The book covers only hours of a life but touches on themes and motifs that concern all human beings: loneliness, care, medical care and how it’s given, relationships, childhood, coming of age, city life, mortality, and love.

Want books like Eleven Hours?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like Eleven Hours.

Browse books like Eleven Hours

Book cover of Beloved
Book cover of Dept. of Speculation
Book cover of The Days of Abandonment

Share your top 3 reads of 2024!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,355

readers submitted
so far, will you?

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in motherhood, childbirth, and female friendship?

Motherhood 53 books
Childbirth 32 books
Female Friendship 133 books