by Jill Smokler
First published 2012
Jill Smokler started a blog to update friends and family about life with her small children. She never expected to strike a nerve with mothers everywhere. Her website ScaryMommy.com became a phenomenon, drawing countless women who recognized themselves in her tales of exhaustion and imperfection. When Smokler launched an anonymous confessional section, the responses poured in. Mothers admitted letting children fall asleep in front of TVs, doing homework for their kids, and crying nightly in the shower while pretending happiness during the day. These raw confessions revealed the gap between idealized motherhood and messy reality. Smokler combines her new essays with the most memorable anonymous submissions in chapters covering husbands, homework, and the daily chaos of raising children. She argues that admitting difficulty doesn't make someone a bad parent. The book captures both the miraculous moments and the frequent struggles that define actual parenting, offering permission to acknowledge that loving your children completely can coexist with wondering what possessed you to sign up for motherhood.
Genres: family, humor, non-fiction, 21st-century, parenting, personal-development
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family
Period: 21st-Century
176 pages · Hardcover · Gallery Books