There is so much noise surrounding pregnancy and birth. There are countless books teeming with information-what test does what, the "rights" and "wrongs" of eating, and "safe" or "risky" lifestyle choices-but few that hold a woman through the experience, acting as an elder sister, a matriarch, or a circle of women might hold her-with compassion, nonjudgment, and, most of all, wisdom. To the authors of Nine Golden Months, this is exactly what's needed now, in an era of high-speed living, endless demands, and more than a little anxiety and fear.

A woman needs to feel connected to others, rooted in the knowledge that many have done this before her, and calmed and fortified by time-honored practices that nourish her body, soothe her mind, and hold up her spirit. The (still-growing) success of The First Forty Days showed that women are longing to experience the deeper aspects of becoming a mother. Nine Golden Months shares timeless guidance from the authors' extraordinary circle of practitioners, guides, and wisdom-keepers specializing in prenatal care; it draws from traditional Chinese medicine and Ayurveda, and features rituals and self-sourced wisdom, so that it addresses all aspects of a woman's pregnancy experience: emotional, mental, physiological, and spiritual.