First published 2016
Catherine Newman watches her preschoolers grow into teenagers and discovers that ages 4 through 14 form childhood's true second act. These are the years her son and daughter will actually remember as their childhood, unlike the well-documented but forgotten infant and toddler phases. Newman navigates the shifting terrain of parenting through tantrums and budding friendships, nighttime fears and conversations about sex. She captures moments both monumental and quiet, from processing grief as a family to gazing at moonlit faces of sleeping children. The Real Simple journalist brings her candid voice to the bittersweet experience of watching children blossom. Newman finds herself on a roller coaster that swings between laughter and heartbreak, celebrating small victories while mourning each phase that passes. Her memoir explores the evolving challenges parents face as their children develop their own personalities and independence.
Genres: family-life, memoir, parenting, personal-development
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, personal-journey
Period: 21st-century
224 pages · Hardcover · Little, Brown and Company