Baby Steps
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Pub Date Aug 1 2026 | Archive Date Dec 20 2026
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Description
When Girl, Interrupted meets Girls.
Darkly funny, provocative, and emotionally raw, Baby Steps is a debut novel about what happens when the coping mechanism that once helped you survive becomes the very thing preventing you from living. It’s also a story of unexpected pregnancy, eating disorder recovery, queer love, and chosen family.
Avery Ash has spent years controlling her body, her appetite, and her relationships. Then she gets pregnant. A sharp, self-aware queer Jewish law student, Avery knows immediately that she wants to keep the baby. But when her eating disorder puts both her health and the pregnancy at risk, she enters residential treatment convinced she can outsmart recovery—doing just enough to protect the baby without surrendering the behaviors that have made her feel safe for years.
Instead, Avery finds herself thrown into a chaotic community of women and nonbinary patients whose friendships, rivalries, romances, secrets, and dark humor begin dismantling the carefully controlled life she’s built. As her pregnancy progresses and her body becomes increasingly impossible to manage, Avery must confront what her eating disorder has cost her, and whether she’s willing to give up control for the terrifying possibility of intimacy, motherhood, and a life she actually wants.
Advance Praise
Goodreads reviewers are unanimous in their praise:
“Heartbreaking, hysterical, whip-smart, and tender. Girl, Interrupted meets Girls. Loved these characters and how honest this story was about ED recovery. Could not recommend more!!!! 5 stars.”
–Alexa
“Damn. This one was GOOD. What a beautiful debut novel!…. This book is completely unhinged in the best freaking way!…. [Baby Steps] tackles some heavy topics, but ultimately, it’s a story about growth, recovery, motherhood, friendship, and finding your way when life looks nothing like you expected it to. Chelsea Frank is absolutely an author to watch. If Baby Steps is any indication of what’s to come, I cannot WAIT to see what she writes next! 5 stars.”
–KC
“As someone who has been through the same situation as Avery, the main character, I had to keep telling myself this was a novel and not someone reading my diary. Such a great read. This book has everything from comedic relief to wanting to punch someone to ugly crying. Chelsea Frank knocks it out of the park with her debut book. Hope there is more to come!!! 5 stars.”
–Krystin
“I could not put this book down. The humorous depiction of living with an eating disorder and the raw, unfiltered reality of what ED residential treatment is like was so spot on. From start to finish I would find myself laughing or crying through each chapter. As someone in recovery from an eating disorder I found this story to be so cathartic and ended feeling healed…. Avery’s story was a reminder that so many of us have lived through or are living through the same experience and that ultimately we aren’t alone…. an absolute must read. 5 stars.”
–Hope
“Not even sure how to do this brilliant book justice. Frank provides an intimate and honest portrayal of living with an eating disorder while also managing to propel the plot forward and somehow(?) make you laugh along the way. I feel so thankful to have read this. 5 stars.”
–Allison
Available Editions
| ISBN | 9798996883325 |
| PRICE | $27.99 (USD) |
| PAGES | 248 |