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Confessions of a Scary Mommy
Jill Smokler
An Honest and Irreverent Look at Motherhood: The Good, The Bad, and the Scary
Gallery Books
April 2012
On Sale: April 3, 2012
176 pages ISBN: 1451673779 EAN: 9781451673777 Kindle: B005O315PC Hardcover / e-Book
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Humor | Self-Help
Sometimes I just let my children fall asleep in
front of the TV. In a culture that idealizes
motherhood, it’s scary to confess that, in your house, being
a mother is beautiful and dirty and joyful and frustrating
all at once. Admitting that it’s not easy doesn’t make you a
bad mom; at least, it shouldn’t. If I can’t
survive my daughter as a toddler, how the hell am I going to
get through the teenage years? When Jill Smokler
was first home with her small children, she thought her blog
would be something to keep friends and family updated. To
her surprise, she hit a chord in the hearts of mothers
everywhere. I end up doing my son’s homework. It’s
wrong, but so much easier. Total strangers were
contributing their views on that strange reality called
motherhood. As other women shared their stories, Jill
realized she wasn’t alone in her feelings of exhaustion and
imperfection. My eighteen month old still can’t
say “Mommy” but used the word “shit” in perfect context.
But she sensed her readers were still holding back,
so decided to start an anonymous confessional, a place where
real moms could leave their most honest thoughts without
fearing condemnation. I pretend to be happy but I
cry every night in the shower. The
reactions were amazing: some sad, some pee-in-your-pants
funny, some brutally honest. But they were real, not a
commercial glamorization. I clock out of
motherhood at 8 P.M. and hide in the basement
with my laptop and a beer. If you’re already a
fan, lock the bathroom door on your whining kids, run a
bubble bath, and settle in. If you’ve not encountered Scary
Mommy before, break out a glass of champagne as well,
because you’ll be toasting your initiation into a select
club. I know why some animals eat their young.
In chapters that cover husbands (The Biggest Baby of
Them All) to homework (Didn’t I Already Graduate?),
Confessions of a Scary Mommy combines all-new essays
from Jill with the best of the anonymous confessions.
Sometimes I wish my son was still little—then I
hear kids screaming at the store. As Jill says,
“We like to paint motherhood as picture perfect. A newborn
peacefully resting on his mother’s chest. A toddler taking
tentative first steps into his mother’s loving arms. A
mother fluffing her daughter’s prom dress. These moments are
indeed miraculous and joyful; they can also be few and far
between.” Of course you adore your kids. Of course you would
lay down your life for them. But be honest now: Have you
ever wondered what possessed you to sign up for the job of
motherhood? STOP! DO NOT OPEN THIS BOOK UNTIL YOU
RECITE THESE VOWS! I shall remember that
no mother is perfect and my children will thrive because,
and sometimes even in spite, of me. I shall not
preach to a fellow mother who has not asked my opinion.
It’s none of my damn business. I shall maintain
a sense of humor about all things motherhood.
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