Television for Women is fresh, cutting, and brutally honest. Trapped in a web of guilt and shame, Estie is disturbed to find that her mystical maternal instincts have yet to appear, even months after the birth of her first child. Through Danit Brown’s daring and witty prose, Estie takes us with her to the darker edges of early motherhood, where she is able to see her relationships, past and present, in a new light.

Thank you NetGalley and Melville House for the digital ARC!

This was an intriguing read, particularly from the perspective of a mother. I was curious to see how the story would unfold, especially given its focus on themes of parenthood and identity. That said, I found it difficult to connect with the main character—her experiences didn’t resonate with me, and at times, her behavior struck me as odd and even repetitive. Her perspective felt distant, and I often struggled to understand the motivations behind her choices. In truth, none of the characters felt especially relatable or fully formed in a way that made sense to me individually.

However, what was interesting is that, despite this lack of personal connection, the narrative as a whole managed to come together in a way that felt cohesive. There was a strange kind of harmony to it all that kept me reading. While it wasn't a story I could see myself in, it did succeed in pulling me along—and in the end, I felt compelled to see it through.

I'm glad that we're seeing a push in literature that focuses on the darker sides of motherhood that are often left unsaid. This book deal with post-partum depression, which I feel like is a very important subject when it comes to post-partum health.

Television for Women is a very raw, unflinching, account of a woman who suffers from PPD. This book showcases all the intensity associated with it and doesn't hold back in it's portrayal. It touches on facets of motherhood that are often kept behind locked doors--the lack of attachment, isolation from your peers, feeling like an alien in your own body, and navigating between who you were and who you are now-- and I think that's admirable and opens up the potential towards lots of discussions. Which I can see this book being a great discussion piece regarding women's health.

Danit Brown's writing is fantastic and she's able to paint such an intense picture that any woman could relate to. The journey that Estie goes through is emotional, exhausting, yet so realistic that it carries the story into a very profound experience. I don't have kids, I never plan on having kids, but I was able to sympathize with her story in a way that felt personal and emotional.

All in all, I think this books is a fantastic read for all the women out there. I think it opens the door to potential discussions about parenthood and women's health that would be beneficial for anyone to have. If this sounds interesting, I highly recommend it.

soooooo so good! Icant recommend this book enough! it is uniquely amazing, I havent read a book like this one before. I love the themes of motherhood, growth, grief, and just how it is so real and not fake. It is definitely eye opening!

Thank you to NetGalley, to the author, and to the publisher for this complimentary ARC in exchange for my honest review!!!

Danit Brown’s Television for Women is a raw, darkly funny, and refreshingly unsentimental look at early motherhood and the unraveling of identity that can come with it. Estie’s voice is sharp, observant, and often painfully relatable as she navigates postpartum disillusionment, strained relationships, and the quiet, creeping fear of becoming her own mother. Brown does an excellent job capturing the mental load of new parenthood with humor and clarity, and many moments ring achingly true.

That said, while the novel is deeply honest and propulsive in its best scenes, some plot points felt underdeveloped or resolved too quickly, and a few emotional beats didn’t land as powerfully as they could have. Still, Television for Women is a bold debut with a strong voice—messy, intimate, and worth the read, especially for fans of Nightbitch or Rachel Yoder’s work.

The blurb tells you just about everything* that's going to happen in this short, sometimes heavy, but quick read. I'm struggling to see where the "darkly humorous" bits were but everybody experiences marriage, pregnancy, motherhood, and reading a book about all the former things differently.

Estie was doomed from early on in the book when the reader witnesses the way in which she becomes pregnant. This serves as a first glimpse into the disconnect between Estie and Owen, Estie and herself, her visions of a "good" or "proper" life and the one she is currently existing in. I suspect that many women will be able to relate to not knowing what they want, "just what [they] ought to want." I suppose this feeling of surrendering, trying to relax because it's pointless to object, could be triggering for some readers. It is brief, though, and happens in the span of a paragraph or two.

Estie didn't have that enviable pregnancy glow, endured a long and painful labor, and isn't shying away from expressing (to the reader, and her husband) how terrible and hard motherhood is. While I've made an argument that you don't have to enjoy the characters in a book to like the story, this story features some seriously unlikable characters. Luckily, you don't have to like anybody here to appreciate the message. Parenthood is tough work, even with a present partner and willing, loving, able friends and family around. So, imagine Estie's dismay at venturing into this all-consuming journey she wasn't prepared for without her village. She fully displays her "hormonal" rage, resentment, exhaustion, grief, and despair. Even women who relish in being mothers come face to face with some ugly monsters about choices, loss of self, self-worth, and self-esteem. Brown doesn't shy away from showing the miserable, dark, scary parts of postpartum depression. Nor does she shy away from hard revelations that some relationships, some friendships, are romanticized even when they no longer serve us. Initially I could understand Estie's growing frustration with Owen, but when his face is down in her lap and he tenderly asks her to "maybe rest [her] hand on [his] head," my heart exploded and softened all at once. Owen suffers a few major missteps, but I think he serves as a reminder that we often feel overwhelmed and resentful without taking into account what that other person has been doing (probably their best, too). It's not like Alice is available to sing songs about boobs, after all.

I couldn't help but think of something Blair Waldorf once said, yes from Gossip Girl , "you can't help who you love but you can choose how you love them." In the end, Estie finds her voice, finds hope, and finds a reason to do everything again and again, as often as needed... love for her daughter and husband. "She'd been miserable to begin with, and then, one day, she wasn't miserable anymore." Some struggles kept repeating, dragging on, others that felt heavier were glossed over and forgotten, and while self-deprecating, Etsie is wholly self-centered. The concept of ppd is relatable, but I don't know that I'd have liked our main character from before either, so, ultimately, I'm giving this three stars. It can serve as somewhat informational or spark a candid conversation, but I don't suspect I'll be thinking of this after so much as taking a whiff of my next read.

*There is an animal (cat) death in the story. An impulsive, brash, horrible thing to do to your pet of many, many years.

Thanks to Melville House and Netgalley for the e-ARC.

A maternity thriller featuring an insecure husband, pregnancy doubtfulness, and severed best friendships.

Personally, thought this was filled with a lot of internal thoughts and not a lot of action. It's clear that the protagonist Estie is not so sure about motherhood and all of its promises. At times, I felt that there was too much dwelling on certain themes/problems. It was slow. If you liked Nightbitch, you might enjoy Television for Women—that's probably the closest analog I can think of.

Television for Women takes a look at pregnancy, post-partum and motherhood through the eyes of Estie, a thirty-something woman who is eight months pregnant at the start of the novel. After giving birth, Estie feels like motherhood does not live up to the rosy-tinted version we have been fed - vibrant and glowing new mamas in yoga pants jogging through the park, head over heels in love with the tiny creature in the stroller. Through the novel’s lyrical prose and unflinching honesty, the author thoughtfully tackles a difficult subject: motherhood.

Thank you to @melvillehouse for a copy of this novel!

Television for Women wasn't the supernatural tale I was hoping for (not sure where I even got that idea from) but rather a stark portrait of postpartum struggles. Estie is an absolute mess - and I mean a MESS. I have never encountered in all my years of reading a character who made such perplexingly asinine decisions. She's uncertain about her pregnancy, her marriage to a newly unemployed professor, and then motherhood itself. To be fair, her husband Owen got fired because he lied about his degree, so he's a bit of a self-pitying shithead himself. Not exactly the rock you'd want beside you when bringing new life into the world. There's also a fair bit of generational trauma at play - Estie's mother suffered similarly and was extremely depressed many years after her children were born. You can see Estie wrestling with the fear of repeating her mother's patterns, crying in the bathroom while her daughter stands outside wondering if she's okay. Her best friend Alice has gone silent since learning about the baby, which I found confusing since Estie seems to have many fond memories of their friendship. But from what we see in the story, Alice doesn't seem to care much about Estie at all, making me wonder if their connection was largely one-sided or if Estie overinflated its importance. The book's unflinching look at the realities of early motherhood – the endless dirty laundry, sleep deprivation, and identity crisis – felt brutally honest. Estie's relationship with her cat Herbert was more developed than her connection with her baby for much of the story, which made the cat's fate particularly disturbing. I more or less enjoyed this, but found myself frequently exasperated by Estie's relentless self-centeredness. While I can't speak to the accuracy of the postpartum depression portrayal (being happily child-free myself), I found myself repeatedly wondering what on earth this woman was thinking.

I recently read Television for Women by Danit Brown, and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. The novel explores the complexities of identity, relationships, and personal growth in a refreshingly relatable way. The story centers around women navigating their lives, with each character bringing a unique perspective and voice to the narrative. Brown’s writing is insightful and engaging, and she does a fantastic job of blending humor with more serious reflections on life and love.

What really stood out to me was the way Brown explores the ordinary yet significant moments in life, capturing the nuances of personal relationships and self-discovery. It’s a book that feels intimate and real, with characters you can’t help but root for. If you’re looking for a thought-provoking yet accessible read that delves into the lives of modern women, Television for Women is a great choice.

Wow - what an emotional read. I agree with what some other reviewers said about this book not being for everyone, but despite being a difficult one, it was so incredibly relatable that it took me right back to my newborn days as I struggled with PPD myself.

The pacing of this felt a little drawn out, but as someone who went through similar struggles as Estie's, I think it's important that more people read and learn how unfortunately common this is for so many women. They say "it takes a village," but the reality is that not all of us are so lucky to have one, especially when we live so far from friends and family and not everyone understands or is even willing to listen. I even found myself getting frustrated with some of Alice's decisions (especially at the end!) before being quickly reminded that we aren't ourselves in times like these and it's so important to know and learn that it's OKAY to ask for help and that we NEED to do so; and we need to support other parents instead of only asking about the kids, too!

But my GOD I couldn't stand her husband. Poor Estie.

4/5 stars. Thanks so much for this ARC!

I have a love hate relationship with this novel! The searing look at motherhood, and the, sometimes terrifying, nature of postpartum depression is incredibly important. The novel does an exceptional job of sneaking up on you because the problems Estie faces are very real, and very frustrating, so when she goes of the rails you understand how she got there, but are still perplexed about why she is making the choices she is making. There is a HUGE tragedy that happens in this novel (iykyk) that was incredibly heartbreaking, and made me almost quit the novel. I really had to sit with it, and make the decision on whether or not to continue because the act fundamentally shifted how I viewed a lot of the characters in this book. After reflecting, I came to the conclusion that I was expecting Estie's PPD to fit into a box that I didn't even realize I had created, and when she overstepped those bounds, I was ready to write her off completely. And in a lot of ways, that is the betrayal of moms and new motherhood that this novel pushes against.

Where the novel loses me however is by the fact that all versions of Estie have been quite unbearable. Every version of her we meet through the novel is self centered, insecure, and sometimes manipulative. And so, there isn't a huge contrast between her pre ans post baby. Additionally, her relationship with Alice is PERPLEXING. I went into this novel thinking I would LOVE it, but about halfway through it lost some of its shine for me. However, I did still enjoy it. Thank you to NetGalley and Melville House Publishing for the ARC 3.5⭐️

Estie is a point-blank portrayal of all those thoughts you think but would never want anyone else to know that you think them. Sometimes I cringe, sometimes I sympathize.

This book does not shy away from the realities of postpartum depression. I *did* almost stop after she unnecessarily put down the cat. I mean…yikes.

Thank you to NetGalley and Melville House Publishing for the ARC.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and to Melville House for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review. I started out LOVING this. I think it is an exceptional novel that really shows the struggles new mothers go through and how difficult it is to parent a child. The novel perfectly captured the raw and exhausting life of new motherhood.

**SPOILERS""

However, it was difficult for me to read the part about her putting the cat down because I just had to put my cat down due to a two-year battle with cancer. She put the cat down because the cat was inconvenient and I felt this was incredibly selfish. I suggest not reading the book if you are going through a recent traumatic pet loss like me.

"Estie isn’t sure she likes being eight months pregnant. She isn’t even sure she likes her husband anymore, especially after he hid that he’s been fired from his job. Hello parenthood! Goodbye life as Estie imagined it! Now, she’s stranded and bloated and alone. Her cat is not a people person, and on top of it all, her best friend has been ignoring her calls ever since Estie told her about the baby."

this read was so real and raw. zero humor.
i breezed through it quickly, as the characters were very compelling.
i will be thinking of Etsie for a while.

4/5 star. & i will be recommending this read to others.
thank you to Danit Brown, Melville, & Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The depiction of womanhood and pregnancy is so brutally real that it feels almost visceral. The level of detail the author provides is worth studying. There are some strong moments and well-executed slow burns. While I was hoping for a more captivating storyline, it’s not bad at all so far.

interesting, insightful, and cutting novel with incredible writing. would recommend. 5 stars. tysm for the arc.

This novel took me by surprise! "Television for Women" is a raw and brutally honest book about postpartum depression, motherhood, self-hatred, and dealing with a mediocre marriage/lifestyle. Estie is a 32-year-old woman who is 8 months pregnant as the novel begins. She's married to an English professor named Owen. Once she gives birth to her daughter, Estie becomes increasingly depressed and anxious. She's very indifferent to her newborn baby and feels betrayed by Owen (who lied about earning his PH. D in literature). Estie also has an overbearing mother, and Estie's best friend, Alice from college starts to pull away from her via texts and phone calls. I really enjoyed the author's writing style. Her prose is razor-sharp, sarcastic, hilarious, and poignant. There's a lot of funny dialogue and chaotic situations in this novel. I must admit, the upsetting scene involving her cat, Hubert did take me out of the novel. I felt like that traumatic scene felt unnecessary, but now that I've had time to think about it, I guess the scene is crucial/important to the mindset of Estie's mental decline. This is a well written and unflinching novel about the negative aspects of being a new parent. This novel won't be for everyone. The author never tries to sugar coat the truth when it comes to Estie's questionable decisions. You may not even like Estie once you finish this book, but I appreciate the author not being afraid to write the unvarnished truth about motherhood, warts and all.

Danit Brown Television for Women Melville Publishing House, June 2025.

Thank you, NetGalley, for providing me with this uncorrected proof for review.

I found this a profoundly disappointing reflection upon a woman’s first few months home with her baby. To Estie, ‘the baby,’ until well into their departure from the safety of the hospital to the home in which the baby’s parents harbour disappointments, the baby at last becomes Rosie to her mother. This is a clever acknowledgement of the distance between Estie, the only source of food, and Rosie who is dependent upon her mother’s presence. That this is only a physical presence is conveyed well by the distancing language. However, this is the redeeming feature for me. Unfortunately, Estie’s self-regard, referred to herself as ‘hormonal’, and later, her behaviour the result of ‘depression’, was a stumbling block for my becoming immersed sympathetically in Estie’s undoubtably distressing and challenging first months of motherhood.

Estie and Owen have chosen parenthood with little thought to its consequences. The birth although not easy, becomes of infinitesimal concern after their abrupt release from the hospital into their car carefully fitted with its safety baby capsule, and then into their home. Here, the cat, a source of Owen’s allergies, Estie’s love/hate feelings, and her mother’s prognostication of threat to Rosie, is a symbol for Estie’s dependence on her relationship with Alice, a college friend. Her need for her friendship, and Alice’s need to deflect this is an important part of Estie’s past. Also impacting on Estie’s present is her parents’ marriage and divorce. Penny, another friend, and Dan, a past lover, all feature in Estie’s attempts to come to terms with the adulthood forced upon her as the most important source of comfort for her daughter.

The never-ending accumulation of soiled laundry, unwashed dishes, unvacuumed and uncleaned surfaces is well depicted. The grinding despair of never having enough sleep, resentfulness at lack of assistance or help inadequately provided all rings true to parents. Even the jealousy of the first smile being given to someone other than herself, and Estie’s fear that her college lover, Dan might be involved with Alice, are understandable. However, driving a force through this is Estie’s relentless ability to place herself first. Becoming mother is not easy. It is also difficult to make legitimate demands. However, this novel, while addressing the first, does not persuade me that Estie is unable to do the latter, making it difficult for me to always engage sympathetically with her story.

Ok this book is super hard for me to review. I got to about 50% and absolutely loved it. All of the characters felt super compelling, I loved the exploration of PPD and how it intersects with men’s weaponized incompetence. I would love to come back and finish this one day. However it does apparently have pet death, which after losing 2 pets in less than 3 months, I just can’t handle right now. If that isn’t a struggle for you, and neither is graphic depictions of child birth, pregnancy, or post partum, I would suggest 100%.