What Kind of Woman

An Instant #1 New York Times Bestseller

A Goop Book Club Pick

"If you want your breath to catch and your heart to stop, turn to Kate Baer."—Joanna Goddard, Cup of Jo

A stunning and honest debut poetry collection about the beauty and hardships of being a woman in the world today, and the many roles we play - mother, partner, and friend.

"When life throws you a bag of sorrow, hold out your hands/Little by little, mountains are climbed." So ends Kate Baer’s remarkable poem "Things My Girlfriends Teach Me." In "Nothing Tastes as Good as Skinny Feels" she challenges her reader to consider their grandmother’s cake, the taste of the sea, the cool swill of freedom. In her poem "Deliverance" about her son’s birth she writes "What is the word for when the light leaves the body?/What is the word for when it/at last, returns?"

Through poems about womanhood that are as unforgettably beautiful as they are accessible, Kate Baer proves herself to truly be an exemplary voice in modern poetry. Her confessional poetry makes women feel seen in their own bodies, in their own marriages, and in their own lives. Her poems are those you share with your mother, your daughter, your sister, and your friends.

This collection captures the sharp, honest, and beautiful truths of a woman’s life:

• Body Image & Self-Love: Challenge the lie that "nothing tastes as good as skinny feels" with poems that celebrate your grandmother’s cake, the taste of the sea, and the cool swill of freedom.
• Marriage Poems: An unflinching look at modern partnership—the private jokes, the silent arguments, and the love that survives in the quiet moments after the children are asleep.
• Motherhood Poems: From the raw delivery in "Deliverance" to the ache of a child growing up, Baer captures the light leaving the body and the moment it, at last, returns.
• Modern Feminist Voice: For every woman who has been told to stay in her lane or questioned for her tone, these are the poems you share with your mother, your daughter, your sister, and your friends.