Beverly's POV

My body was completely wrecked, nobody had adequately warned me about all these before giving birth. Bleeding that seemed endless, stitches that pulled with every movement, hemorrhoids that made sitting agony, and breasts so engorged they felt like painful rocks attached to my chest. This was motherhood's dark secret.

I stood in front of the bathroom mirror one week postpartum and did not recognize the woman staring back at me. Stretch marks covered my deflated stomach like ...