James finds himself woefully unprepared when his firstborn daughter, Abby, arrives into the world. On the drive from the hospital with his wife and baby, he plods along at twenty-five miles an hour while scanning the horizon for road debris, drunken drivers, and collapsing overpasses. Despite bills, diapers, and a baby that never seems to be happy, he maintains his sense of humor—even while reflecting on his own damaged childhood, which left him with a single kidney and questions about what it means to love and be loved. When he’s not tackling big issues, he’s neurotically brooding over his lackluster parenting skills, nonexistent sex life, and the disturbing image of his wife fishing out baby poop from under her fingernails. Appealing to a new generation of caring fathers and the women they love, Birth Control delivers honest, often embarrassing, but always heartfelt insights into what it’s like to surrender to the overpowering love that comes with a first child.
