Books
New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2007
ELLE Magazine Reader's Prize 2008
"...exhilarating prose. It's great entertainment watching professionals at the top of the field...." - New York Times Book Review
"The food is tantalizing, but what keeps you at Damrosch's table is the writing." - Entertainment Weekly
"A charming debut..." - Publisher's Weekly
"Well-written and fascinating...." - Kirkus Reviews
"For service industry refugees who were bored to tears by the redacted-for-the-masses Kitchen Confidential, Ms. Damrosch is a funnier, less self-aborbed narrator with a far juicier tale." - Seattle Weekly
(for the record Phoebe loved Kitchen Confidential)
"Service Included: Four-Star Secrets of an Eavesdropping Waiter is one of the most delightful books this year. Phoebe is a smart writer and her storytelling is quick and witty." - Pop Syndicate
"Damrosch has a sassy, clean voice..." - Northwest Palate
"It is when Damrosch writes of the human-comestible interaction like the diner who enjoyed taking the heat-retaining cloches off his own plates and was allowed to do so, the co-workers who cheer over the largest tin of caviar she has ever seen when Per Se earns four stars on its first Times review, that she creates a narrative worth reading." - Smoke Signals
“Labor Day belongs on the nightstand next to What to Expect When You’re Expecting. It’s a must-have book for mothers, mothers-to-be, and anyone who cares about what birth looks like today.”
—Molly Ringwald, Actor, Singer, Mother, Author of When It Happens to You
“One of the most important preparations for labor is reading actual stories from actual women in labor. Labor Day provides a tremendously varied, honest, and beautiful set of stories to learn from and grow with, no matter where you are in your parenting journey.”
—Mayim Bialik, Ph.D., Actress, Neuroscientist, Mother
“In delivery rooms, in the backseats of cars, and at home, these women tell their birth stories so clearly that they must have had stenographers present on the scene. I loved reading this book with my baby asleep in the next room, and will give it to every pregnant woman I know from here on out, forever.”
—Emma Straub, Author of Modern Lovers
“I read Labor Day like the way I ate my first meal after giving birth: I knew I loved labor stories, but I didn’t know I was absolutely starving for them. Ravenous. And they satisfied me; they filled me with wonder and tears and quite a few laugh-out-loud guffaws. And mostly with gratitude that real women shared their real experiences so that all of us can re-experience the wild joy and terror and beauty of giving birth.”
—Elizabeth Lesser, Former Midwife, Co-founder of Omega Institute,
and Author of Broken Open: How Difficult Times Can Help Us Grow
“Labor Day is such a gift. I’ve probably read or heard hundreds of birth stories, but once I picked up Labor Day, I could not put it down. Each fascinating detail, from the banal to the exalted, gives a glimpse of just what can happen when a baby is born.”
—Catherine Taylor, Former Doula, Founder of Essay Press, and Author of Giving Birth: A Journey Into the World of Mothers and Midwives