Hello Baby: The Hopeful, Painful Pursuit of Becoming a Parent

Released August 18, 2026, Hello Baby by Kim Eui-Kyung (translated from Korean by Sora Kim-Russell, Hogarth) is the August release every parent-to-be should read: a humane, sometimes funny, and always illuminating exploration of the hopeful, painful pursuit of pregnancy and birth that so many people undertake around the world every day. Lydia Kiesling called it "what a humane, sometimes funny, and always illuminating exploration" — and it arrives at the exact moment the global conversation about the cost of having children has never been louder.

The Becoming Premium

Kim identifies the "becoming premium" — the often invisible economic and emotional investment that begins long before a child is born, from fertility treatment and prenatal care to the lost wages and reshaped careers that accompany pregnancy and early parenthood. In a 2026 world where childcare waitlists top 400,000 in the United States alone and fertility costs are rising across the OECD, Hello Baby refuses to look away from the hard math of becoming a family — while still finding room for humor and hope.

Lessons for Families:

• The Cost of Becoming: Understanding that the price of parenthood begins at conception — and planning accordingly.
• Hope Amid Difficulty: How honest storytelling can carry families through the painful parts of the journey.
• Global Sisterhood: The shared experience of pregnancy and birth across cultures, economies, and borders.

The ChildCost Verdict

Hello Baby is essential reading for anyone navigating the messy, expensive, miraculous road to parenthood. Kim Eui-Kyung proves that the most valuable family asset is not money — it is the courage to keep hoping through the hardest months of becoming.