It’s clear the author knows a thing or two about childbirth and the 4th trimester following.

The only thing that I found confusing was no mention of how tired you are in those first few weeks/months. I wanted to shake Gemma as she’s trying to prep the house for visitors! No! That’s their job! You just go to relax or sleep!

The tension between the characters was real. Semi spoiler: I also didn’t believe that Anthony would go stay at a friend’s house every night. Would he sleep on the couch or the guest room? Yes. But to go to another house seemed far fetched to me.

I’m glad she found herself. I’m glad it wrapped up nearly but not in a perfect sitcom ending. We got resolution but not a perfect ending.

Will definitely be reading future novels from Meg!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ — Quirky, heartfelt, and refreshingly honest
The Inconvenient Unraveling of Gemma Sinclair is a charming story about self-discovery and the messy journey of life. Gemma’s voice is authentic and relatable, making her struggles and growth feel real and engaging. The humor and emotional moments balance perfectly, though the pacing slows at times. Overall, it’s a thoughtful and uplifting read that resonates long after the final page.

This was a tricky one for me. Initially, I had a hard time getting into it. I found the build up kind of slow and felt like I was just waiting for “the accident” to happen. It was also difficult for me to read about some of the postpartum happenings that Gemma was experiencing, but that was due to my own birth trauma. When I finished the book, I really needed to take some time to mull over how I felt about it, and I’ve decided it was a good read. It was intensely emotional at times, frustrating at others, and ended up wrapping up quite nicely. I didn’t love Gemma as a character, but actually found her to be pretty relatable sometimes, especially as a mother of young boys myself. It was heavy but it was touching and a worthwhile out-of-comfort-zone read.

I could not put this book down and all I wanted to do was give Gemma Sinclair a hug. I think we can all relate in one form or another, especially with the expectations of having to do it all and being everything to everyone. Gemma completely lost her entire being in the process, trailing back to when she was a child and feeling like her entire life was a lie (which I guess in hindsight, it was).

What’s interesting to me about Gemma’s character is that when she finally stands up for herself and decides to stop being a pushover and putting herself first, as well as pushing for answers to questions that have always been brushed off (such as, why does my brother Eddie hate me?), everyone around her villainized her. She’s a mom who just had her second child and is struggling in all aspects post-partum with little support and lots of criticism, she is a wife, a daughter, an incredible therapist, and it never seems to be enough.

The emotions in this one were raw. Even if you’re not a parent, even if you don’t have a completely dysfunctional family, even if you’re not fighting for answers and fighting to be seen, you FEEL for Gemma and her journey. The realness of her entire persona made this that much more enjoyable.

𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒓, 𝑮𝒊𝒓𝒍 𝑭𝒓𝒊𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑴𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑺𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒔𝒕 𝑨𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒂 𝑩𝒂𝒕𝒕, 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑵𝒆𝒕 𝑮𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒚 𝑨𝑹𝑪 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆!

What a hidden gem! I thoroughly enjoyed this story about unraveled Gemma and her all-too familiar family. The author expertly captured the nuances of past trauma and how a family copes with decisions made in the spur of the moment. After a somewhat slow start, I could not turn the pages fast enough. I love how the story unraveled (pun intended) and was so happy with the ending. I felt for the characters as if they were my own siblings. A fabulous book that anyone interested in family dynamics post trauma should read. Loved it!

“Everywhere I look, everything I dig into, reveals more than I can handle.”

Am I the only one that feels that in my soul??

Gemma Sinclair works hard to hold it all together. She’s a people-pleaser, she’s got a demanding career, and she’s just delivered her second baby.

Seems like the perfect recipe for life to absolutely go off the rails, right?

In this incredibly-written and hugely relatable novel, Gemma is forced to face decades-old hurts and family secrets to try to figure out where she fits into her own life.

I truly could not put this book down, as it is both a wonderful story and a heartbreaking look at how hard motherhood can be. I’m not a mom, but I was cheering Gemma on like we’d met in a Lamaze class. 😂

This book has such a positive view of mental health and how multi-faceted it can be, and I so appreciated that part of the narrative.

“‘Point is, Gemma,’ she said, sitting up slightly, ‘if we don’t handle our trauma, our trauma will handle us.’”

What’s the last book you read that positively supported mental health in some way? Or, what are you reading this week?

Are you a mother? Do you have a mother? Do you know a mother? Read this and keep all of those women in your mind as you do. This story is written with intelligence, humor, and displays what I can only assume is emotional bravery. Warning: May cause you to reflect and self examine your own relationships, proceed with caution (and perhaps tissues and a comfort food). Gemma is going through a lot, and finds a way to come out of it on the other side - a reminder of what we are all capable of doing. Thank you to the author for making Gemma real, relatable, vulnerable, and heroic. The wittiness and dialogue are a bonus and make this read well worth the journey. Can't wait to see what else this author has to share!

Gemma's got the “perfect life” checklist ticked, but she’s coming apart in slow motion. Postpartum depression, family tension, career unravelling, it’s all there, laid bare without sugar-coating and full of honest gut-punching moments.

I enjoyed Gemmas’ sense of humor, especially in the first 30% of the story. The author delves into deeply stored family issues and each members’ perspectives. Thank you to NG for a copy to enjoy for my honest opinion.

Where do I begin with this book? Someone asked me recently what the book was about and I had to pause. Because, well, it’s about all the things that profoundly shape us in life - family, partnerships, relationships, friendships, parenthood. And at the crux of all those is Gemma. Meg created a character that is so deeply relatable that she can be hilarious and enraging all in one moment. You’ll want to scream at her, cry with her, and laugh with her as you follow her journey. And if your experience with the book is anything like mine, you’ll find yourself deeply relating to Gemma’s unraveling with every flip of the page.

I received an Advance Reader Copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Inconvenient Unraveling of Gemma Sinclair is a beautifully written, emotionally grounded story that explores the complexities of family and identity with honesty and heart. Meg Myers Morgan has crafted a cast of characters who feel deeply real—flawed, funny, and relatable.

The pacing was spot-on and kept me turning the pages. I found myself frustrated with Gemma at times, but that only pulled me in deeper; I wanted to understand her, and as her backstory unraveled, her actions began to make more and more sense. That tension between who she is and who she’s been was one of the book’s most compelling elements.

The ending tied things together in a way that felt both satisfying and realistic—not too tidy, but just right.

Overall, this book was a feel-good read, not because everything was perfect, but because it felt true. Fans of character-driven fiction with heart and humor will really enjoy this one.

**The Inconvenient Unraveling of Gemma Sinclair** by Meg Myers Morgan is a deeply resonant, character-driven domestic drama that explores the fragile terrain of postpartum motherhood and the pressures of balancing work, family, and inner turmoil. Gemma appears to have it all—successful career, loving husband, two sons—until a frightening accident involving her newborn triggers a series of lies and the resurfacing of long-buried secrets . Morgan handles the heavy themes with sharp humor, crackling dialogue, and raw honesty, crafting a heroine who is hauntingly authentic and impossible not to root for .

this book sat with me and will sit with me for too long. but not long enough. it was so much of everything you want in a book that is just brilliant. when you start feeeeeeeling so much you know its a good book. when i dont know quite what to say, when i dont know quite how to put it all in to a succinct set of words, its actually proof of just how amazing this book is to me. because i dont actually think the words will do it justice, not to the words or emotions this book held to my whole heart and soul but just wow.
Gemma is our character for this book. and boy did we want to give her a hug. or at least help her heal.
shes just had her baby who is days old. but Gemma is taking on too much. she wants and needs everything to be just so. she needs approval and acceptance of those she loves.
but when an accident occurs things crack open. and the realities spill out.
because Gemma might look like she has it all and does it all easily. but she doesn't. shes struggling. with the now, very much so. but also with all the things that have made her her from her past. all the things that have held her together and created this person she thought she needed to be. well that person wasn't happy, or even her. it was just a person, with part of her built on pain. and now she has no choice but to look at that person and the crack and maybe start to allow the healing.
its a brilliant telling of how anyone and anything can cause us pain. and thats ok. and also how pain lingers and can come back, about, be seen in many ways. and when it comes to things like this we all need to be kinder and allow it. allow it to weaken us with no shame. and then have others and more others do so too. the understanding that needs to come from these kind of wounds or illness needs to be held of more importance! then maybe people wouldn't spiral so much. maybe we would put as much care, understanding and love into helping people. before it hits the break. its not that easy, not least because of the nature of these things. but the illness's wouldn't have so much power if our wider culture were oh so blooming different when it comes to these things.
i was rooting for Gemma. i wanted her to be ok. or at least on the way there.

Thanks to NetGalley and Girl Friday Publications for the ebook ARC of this book for review. All opinions are my own.

One day can change the trajectory of your whole life.

Family secrets. People pleasing. Post-partum depression. Trauma. This book has it all. Gemma Sinclair is a mom to five-year-old Bo and four-day-old Calvin. She should be in bed resting, recovering, and bonding with her new baby, but instead she is running around preparing for a family dinner. Her older brother Eddie is coming into town to stay with her and she wants to make everything perfect. Eddie has been distant with her ever since the day of his football tryouts 30 years ago, the same day she broke her collarbone at age five, and she is hopeful that they can finally talk about what happened that day since she doesn't remember much and no one in her family wants to talk about it.

The visit doesn't go as planned and ends in tragedy. As Gemma slips further and further into postpartum depression (something that as a therapist she should recognize), she keeps pushing her feelings and emotions further and further inside. She begins having nightmares about that day, memories that keep rising to the surface of her subconscious. Things don't add up and her parents won't talk about it. Are they hiding something?

The Inconvenient Unraveling of Gemma Sinclair is a quick and enjoyable read - I read it in almost one sitting. I have to admit I wasn't keen on how the book started. At four days postpartum this woman is racing around cleaning despite the nine stitches her OBGYN gave her after Calvin was born? Really? As I kept reading, however, I saw that Morgan was simply establishing Gemma's character as an extreme people pleaser around her very disconnected family. Some things did feel a bit outlandish or magnified though; I wasn't sure if they would happen in real life.

However, there was a point to all the family dysfunction - to carry the story arc. All of the characters grew in some way and were changed by the end of the book.

I read this book in a few days because I couldn’t put it down. Meg uses humor and insight to describe the struggles in family relationships. As parents (moms especially), we feel so much pressure to make good decisions regarding our children. As humans, we fail miserably and are so often guided by perceptions, guilt, emotions, and pride. I love writing that expresses all of these human thoughts and feelings so accurately.. I can’t wait to have a hard copy so I can reread all of my favorite parts.

Brilliant must-read for any woman who feels she is “falling apart under the weight of everything.”

I devoured this book in an afternoon. It was a quick read with tons of depth, relatable characters and enough wit in the dialogue to keep the elements of trauma and post-partum depression from actually being depressing. I didn’t expect Gemma’s experience to transport me immediately back to my own motherhood journey like it was yesterday, but it did. I found myself unpacking decades of my own ‘unraveling’ while I read. Morgan’s writing is somehow both a mirror and a challenge and healing all at once. I’ve truly never felt so seen by a fictional story.

As an only child who has never given birth, I was a little worried I wouldn’t be able to relate to Gemma’s story. However, with Morgan’s witty story telling, I soon realized Gemma is me. Gemma is my mom. She is my best friend and my coworker and my neighbor. She is every woman. This book provides an emotional journey that is also filled with humor, and the author made Gemma and her story relatable to anyone.

This book is exceptional. It is brilliantly written in a way that keeps you coming back for more. It is a vulnerable and unique story that is also incredibly relatable. It is a deep dive into family dynamics and the impact we have on one another that deeply influences the course of our lives. I highly recommend reading it!

Gemma Sinclair has just had her second baby. He is four days old now and Gemma is trying to get everything in order for her family to come visit. She’s doing way too much, especially to try and make things extra nice since her brother Eddie (who she doesn’t see or hear from often, but definitely seeks his attention) and his wife Kat will be staying overnight. An accident occurs that night that sends baby Calvin to the hospital and brings the dysfunctional family dynamics front and center. Gemma is an interesting character - she’s bright, a successful therapist, a loving mother, wife, sister and daughter - yet she is really struggling with her emotions, relationships with her husband and family. It’s clear to everyone that she has postpartum depression but she insists she just needs more sleep. She is finally forced to undergo therapy herself and has to face all the feelings head on, which includes facing her past experiences within her family and how those experiences affect her current state. The author does an excellent job of showing the struggles new mothers face including the real effects on your body childbirth gives you. I thought the emotions throughout the book rang true and had me pulling for Gemma to push through and come out okay. I give the book 5 stars - I was pleasantly surprised how much I liked this book.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for this digital ARC in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published July 15, 2025.

This is a must read for anyone who has ever had a baby, or been in a marriage, or had a career, or belonged to a family! The way the author crafted and presented her cast of characters in such a relatable manner was nothing short of genius. You will not only be intrigued and entertained by the poignant and often times hilarious dialogue, but after reading, you will feel seen, heard, and known. Complex and powerful family dynamics at its best!