Told She Had A Tumor, She Was Actually Six Months Pregnant: Q and A With Memoirist Alice Eve Cohen

Cover of What I Thought I Knew: A Memoir

It’s a story you can’t quite believe — a 44-year-old woman, told for years she was totally infertile — is told by a series of Manhattan doctors she’s in menopause, then that she has an abdominal tumor. Only after having a CAT scan does she, and her doctor, discover the truth.

Wait, no, that’s not a tumor. It’s a baby! Alice Eve Cohen suddenly faced a high-risk pregnancy after discovering she was six months pregnant after unwittingly taking medications that could well have severely harmed her baby.

Life, after a tough divorce, was looking pretty good. She had a fiance 10 years her junior, Michael, and was making decent money teaching.

Her daughter, Eliana, has a Hebrew name. It means “My God has answered me.”

Her book about this crazy ride is a terrific read. It feels like you’ve sat down for a long lunch with a good friend.

What reaction if any, have you had to the book?

I feel very lucky to have received tremendously positive responses from the press and from readers. I’m deeply honored that What I Thought I Knew just received the Elle Grand Prix award for best nonfiction book of the year; Oprah Magazine selected it for their 25 Best Books of Summer list; and Lifetime recently optioned the book for a television movie!

It has been a great pleasure to respond to letters and emails from readers—women and men, young and old—who have written to share their thoughts with me. They often say they deeply identify with themes in the book, from the complexities of parenting to the challenges of navigating our broken medical system. I’ve heard some wonderful stories from readers. I was very touched when a thirteen-year-old girl emailed me recently to interview me for her book report.

How is Eliana doing?

Eliana is doing great. She’s in fifth grade, she’s super smart, she has a fantastic sense of humor and a wild imagination. Last year she had a very difficult leg-lengthening procedure, so 4^th grade was really hard. This year is much better. Next month she will be ten years old (It’s hard for me to believe she’s such a big kid already!), and we’re touring middle schools.
What was the most challenging aspect of writing this book?

Starting it.

When and why did you decide to write it?

I knew that I wanted and needed to tell this story, even when I was in the thick of the experience, but for years I was unable to begin. Then one day I sat down and started to write. It was the Jewish New Year, exactly seven years from the day I found out that I was six months pregnant. I wrote for a year, at a feverish pitch, until I had completed a full draft that I felt ready to have other people read.
Was it difficult to find an agent or sell the book?

I was extremely fortunate in this regard. My friend Patty McCormick, a wonderful author, read the book and gave it to an agent she knew—Sally Wofford-Girand at Brick House Literary Agency. Sally read it overnight, called me the next day, signed me immediately, and sold the book in less than a month. I LOVE my agent!
Did you take notes throughout all these experiences or did you write mostly (all?) from memory?

I wrote almost exclusively from memory. I was writing very quickly, and I didn’t want to stop the flow to refer to my notes. After I finished a full draft, I looked through my calendars, as well as the copious notes I’d taken on medical and legal matters while the events were unfolding. My notes were quite useful for fact checking. They also reminded me of important incidents I’d forgotten about, which was extremely valuable when my publisher asked me to expand the book.
It feels like a cautionary tale about lousy doctors…what advice, if any, would you give to women who find their physicians ignoring them or overriding their concerns?

If your doctor is ignoring you, find a new doctor! Make sure your doctor takes your concerns seriously and has time to answer your questions.
Do you think women have a tougher time fighting for their needs within the medical system?

Historically this was the case, but I don’t know if it’s still true. In earlier decades, when the medical establishment was virtually all male, women were treated by their doctors in a patronizing way. In the 1950s paradigm, women were expected to obediently follow their doctor’s instructions and not to ask questions. For example, my mother was among millions of women who were routinely given DES (diethylstilbestrol) in the fifties and sixties as a “pregnancy vitamin” to prevent miscarriage—the drug turned out to be both ineffective and carcinogenic. Today, I think all Americans—men, women and children—equally face huge obstacles in finding adequate medical care and insurance coverage. I deeply hope that my book can contribute in a positive way to the national conversation about health care reform that’s going on right now.

Why did you wait so long to write this story?

It took me seven years to start writing this story. At the time, I thought I had a terrible case of writers block. But in retrospect, I believe I simply wasn’t ready to write about it before then. I couldn’t write the book until I knew that my daughter would be okay, and that my family would survive the crisis we’d gone through together.
Anything else you’d like to add?

I truly enjoy hearing from readers. You can email me through my website, at www.AliceEveCohen.com or on Facebook.