What are your first impressions of the central characters?   Motherhood and birth are recurring themes for each character in the first year. Phoenix delivers a baby who is almost immediately taken from her by a social worker. Elsie celebrates being a grandmother, all the while grieving the loss of custody of her own children. Cedar struggles with life in foster homes, then complicated by the idea of living with a father and stepmom she’s never met. And in Margaret’s chapter, she doubts Elsie’s ability to be a good parent as she becomes a young mom to Phoenix, while also reflecting on her own mother’s shortcomings as a parent.   Considering each character’s journey in Year One, how important is it to have choice in motherhood, and what happens when you aren’t given a choice?    Again, considering each character, how important is it to have support in motherhood? How is this shown or not shown in this section of the book?  Consider this quote. How important is it for someone to be proud of they are and where they come from?