Your Tuesday Read: I Went to the Hospital to Give Birth…And Tested Positive for Meth

When the nurse first told Maggie Downs, mid-labor, that there were methamphetamines in her system, she cracked up laughing at the absurdity. When child services showed up, it stopped being funny.

Writer Maggie Downs imagined herself doing things like stretching and walking around freely while in labor — maybe not a walk in the park, exactly, but something that involved her own will. The experience she had instead — at a time when she was at her most vulnerable — was much, much different. This one will have you at the edge of your seat with anticipation the whole way through. Plus, it’s gorgeously written, to boot.