Preview
  • The Baby on the Fire Escape

  • Creativity, Motherhood, and the Mind-Baby Problem
  • By: Julie Phillips
  • Narrated by: Marnye Young
  • Length: 9 hrs and 13 mins
  • 4.9 out of 5 stars (20 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The Baby on the Fire Escape

By: Julie Phillips
Narrated by: Marnye Young
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $21.49

Buy for $21.49

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

An insightful and provocative exploration of the relationship between motherhood and art through the lives of women artists and writers.

What does it mean to create, not in "a room of one's own," but in a domestic space? Do children and genius rule each other out? In The Baby on the Fire Escape, award-winning biographer Julie Phillips traverses the shifting terrain where motherhood and creativity converge.

With fierce empathy and vivid prose, Phillips evokes the intimate struggles of brilliant artists and writers, including Doris Lessing, who had to choose between her motherhood and herself; Ursula K. Le Guin, who found productive stability in family life; Audre Lorde, whose queer, polyamorous union allowed her to raise children on her own terms; and Alice Neel, who once, to finish a painting, was said to have left her baby on the fire escape of her New York apartment. A meditation on maternal identity and artistic greatness, The Baby on the Fire Escape illuminates some of the most pressing conflicts in contemporary women's lives.

©2022 Julie Phillips (P)2022 Tantor
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

What listeners say about The Baby on the Fire Escape

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    18
  • 4 Stars
    2
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    15
  • 4 Stars
    2
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    16
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A must read for Artist Mothers

I had heard of many of the visual artist who’s stories were included in this book, but not the literary ones. It is so wonderful to have them together, which has helped me better understand and articulate my own journey of motherhood while confronting the challenges of being a female artist in the world.

This book sent me down a rabbit hole of looking up so many authors. I loved it!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Life changing

As an artist approaching motherhood, I am left deeply changed by this book. It was exactly what I needed to read in this moment. Marnye Young brought me on the most beautiful journey—pain, hope, fear, transcendence. What an important, MUST read for women artists. By the end I was in tears, I was so moved and thankful for what the author had laid out. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Life changing

I am purchasing a print version of this book to return to in times of need. As an actor and artist experiencing motherhood (and double pandemic motherhood at that) I have felt lost during this time of change. Thank you to Julie Phillips for her brilliant analyses and for profiling this wide range of incredible artist mothers. And for helping me see the mother’s journey as a hero’s journey!!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful Book Filled With Lively Biographies

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The author's use of biography is artful. Unlike many non-fiction books, the narrative kept me wanting to listen and come back for more. Her use of the multiple mini-biographies that relate to each other creates a book that has the interest of fiction while providing real-life knowledge and perspective.

The choice of narrator matches the book well.

I am ready for more from Julie Phillips.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent and overdue

Great examination of the overwhelming task of being true to oneself while mothering. Great research, beautiful narratives, awe inspiring women.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!