The Facts of Life
The Facts of Life by Paula Knight is an illustrated graphic memoir published by Pennsylvania State University Press in 2017. This 240-page book delves into the experiences of best friends Polly and April as they navigate their understanding of sex, reproduction, and gender norms during the 1970s. Through the lens of their childhood and adolescence, they gather insights from older girls, media, and their families, shaping their beliefs about motherhood and personal aspirations.
Readers will find a poignant exploration of the complexities surrounding motherhood, career ambitions, and personal health. As April embraces motherhood, Polly grapples with her career and chronic illness, leading her to question her own path to parenthood. The narrative addresses themes of fertility, relationships, and societal expectations, ultimately prompting a reexamination of what family means in a world that often equates womanhood with motherhood. This edition presents a blend of humor and honesty, making it a significant contribution to the discourse on women’s health and identity.
Official synopsis Publisher
In the 1970s, best friends Polly and April collect hazy knowledge about the “facts of life”–sex, reproduction, and gender norms–through the gossip of older girls, magazines and books, and the everyday behavior of their families and teachers. What they learn reinforces their assumption that they will grow up to become mothers. As the years pass, they each choose paths that they believe will enable them to “have it all.”
April’s dreams of motherhood come true before too long, but as Polly enthusiastically builds a career, her desire and hope to start a family become less firmly ingrained. Her struggles with chronic illness also have an effect on her choices and relationships, and she wonders whether motherhood will be in the cards for her at all. Soon she meets Jack, and together they start a fraught journey, first debating whether parenthood is right for them and then facing the heartbreak of repeated miscarriages and the effects of illness on their ability to have a child. Through it all, Polly is forced to reexamine what family can mean in a society that so often associates family–and womanhood–with children.
Beautifully drawn and poignantly honest, The Facts of Life is a funny, sometimes painful graphic memoir that explores what it takes to be a woman, a partner, and a mother . . . or not.
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