The Day Her Son Was Born Was All Joy. The Next Day, Her Friends Came. On The 3rd Day, Shit Got Real.

This is not your typical story of having a baby. This one is hilarious and gross and heartbreaking and courageous and important. At 4:00, we meet her wonderful nurse who asks her a devastating question. At 9:00, she describes what goodbye feels like. All throughout, you can hear the love in her voice.

This incredible, hearbreaking/warming story is an excerpt from Mariah MacCarthy’s autobiographical solo show, “Baby Mama: One Woman’s Quest to Give Her Child to Gay People,” premiering Aug. 18, 2014, at Dixon Place in New York City (get your tickets!). Mariah is a playwright, burlesque artist, rapper, and all-around badass human who tweets here and makes theater here. Also, this interview with her would be good for you to read. Mariah performed this story for BugHouse SPIN, and you can watch many more like it on their YouTube channel.