Motherhood Comes Naturally (and Other Vicious Lies)

Motherhood Comes Naturally (and Other Vicious Lies)

Author: Jill Smokler

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2013-04-09

Total Pages: 173

ISBN-13: 1476728348

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The ScaryMommy.com blogger presents a new essay collection that denounces the illusory nature of parenting advice, arguing against such common fallacies as "You'll be back to your old self in no time" and "It gets easier."


Motherhood Comes Naturally (and Other Vicious Lies)

Motherhood Comes Naturally (and Other Vicious Lies)

Author: Jill Smokler

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2013-04-09

Total Pages: 164

ISBN-13: 1476728380

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From the New York Times bestselling author of Confessions of a Scary Mommy and the wildly popular blog ScaryMommy.com, a hilarious new essay collection that exposes the “vicious lies” that every parent is told. Newly pregnant and scared out of her mind, Jill Smokler lay on her gynecologist’s examination table and was told the biggest lie she’d ever heard in her life: “Motherhood is the most natural thing in the world.” Instead of quelling her nerves like that well intentioned nurse hoped to, Jill was instead set up for future of questioning exactly what DNA strand she was missing that made the whole motherhood experience feel less than natural to her. Wonderful? Yes. Miraculous? Of course. Worthwhile? Without a doubt. But natural? Not so much. Jill’s first memoir, the New York Times bestseller Confessions of a Scary Mommy, rocketed to national fame with its down and dirty details about life with her three precious bundles of joy. Now Jill returns with all-new essays debunking more than twenty pervasive myths about motherhood. She’s here to give you what few others will dare: The truth.


Intensive Mothering: The Cultural Contradictions of Modern Motherhood

Intensive Mothering: The Cultural Contradictions of Modern Motherhood

Author: Linda Rose Ennis

Publisher: Demeter Press

Published: 2014-12-01

Total Pages: 372

ISBN-13: 1926452712

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To celebrate the twentieth anniversary of Sharon Hays’ landmark book, The Cultural Contradictions of Motherhood, this collection will revisit Hays’ concept of “intensive mothering” as a continuing, yet controversial representation of modern motherhood. In Hays’ original work, she spoke of “intensive mothering” as primarily being conducted by mothers, centered on children’s needs with methods informed by experts, which are labourintensive and costly simply because children are entitled to this maternal investment. While respecting the important need for connection between mother and baby that is prevalent in the teachings of Attachment Theory, this collection raises into question whether an over-investment of mothers in their children’s lives is as effective a mode of parenting, as being conveyed by representations of modern motherhood. In a world where independence is encouraged, why are we still engaging in “intensive motherhood?”


Finding Zoe

Finding Zoe

Author: Brandi Rarus

Publisher: BenBella Books, Inc.

Published: 2014-10-07

Total Pages: 166

ISBN-13: 1940363454

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At just a few months old, Zoe was gradually losing her hearing. Her adoptive parents loved her—yet agonized—feeling they couldn't handle raising a Deaf child. Would Zoe go back into the welfare system and spend her childhood hoping to find parents willing to adopt her? Or, would she be the long-sought answer to a mother's prayers? Brandi Rarus was just 6 when spinal meningitis took away her hearing. Because she spoke well and easily adjusted to lip reading, she was mainstreamed in school and socialized primarily in the hearing community. Brandi was a popular, happy teen, but being fully part of every conversation was an ongoing struggle. She felt caught between two worlds—the Deaf and the hearing. In college, Brandi embraced Deaf Culture along with the joys of complete and effortless communication with her peers. Brandi went on to become Miss Deaf America in 1988 and served as a spokesperson for her community. It was during her tenure as Miss Deaf America that Brandi met Tim, a leader of the Gallaudet Uprising in support of selecting the university's first Deaf president. The two went on to marry and had three hearing boys—the first non-deaf children born in Tim's family in 125 years. Brandi was incredibly grateful to have her three wonderful sons, but couldn't shake the feeling something was missing. She didn't know that Zoe, a six-month-old Deaf baby girl caught in the foster care system, was desperately in need of a family unafraid of her different needs. Brandi found the answer to her prayers when fate brought her new adopted daughter into her life. Set against the backdrop of Deaf America, Finding Zoe is an uplifting story of hope, adoption, and everyday miracles.


The Recovery Mama Guide to Your Eating Disorder Recovery in Pregnancy and Postpartum

The Recovery Mama Guide to Your Eating Disorder Recovery in Pregnancy and Postpartum

Author: Linda Shanti McCabe

Publisher: Jessica Kingsley Publishers

Published: 2019-02-21

Total Pages: 208

ISBN-13: 1785925903

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The upheaval of pregnancy and new motherhood can often trigger a relapse for women recovering from eating disorders, or contribute to their development. This book supports pregnant women and new mothers struggling with changing body image, eating disorders, postpartum depression or perinatal anxiety. Many of the emotional challenges of recovering from an eating disorder - isolation, perfectionism and identity issues - are compounded during pregnancy or early motherhood, when women also have to tackle hormone fluctuations, food cravings and perceived pressures to lose baby weight. The author combines friendly, non-judgmental advice and professional expertise with candid personal experience. She offers recovery tools, support strategies and realistic advice on how to make time for self-care while navigating the chaos of sleep deprivation and feeding schedules. Most importantly, this book will help women let go of social and self-imposed pressures, and embrace being good enough during the massive learning curve of new motherhood.


The Sense of an Ending

The Sense of an Ending

Author: Julian Barnes

Publisher: Random House Canada

Published: 2011-08-02

Total Pages: 162

ISBN-13: 0307360830

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Winner of the 2011 Booker Prize and #1 international bestseller, The Sense of an Ending is a masterpiece. The story of a man coming to terms with the mutable past, Julian Barnes's award-winning novel is laced with his trademark precision, dexterity and insight. It is the work of one of the world's most distinguished writers. Tony Webster and his clique first met Adrian Finn at school. Sex-hungry and book-hungry, they navigated the girl drought of gawky adolescence together, trading in affectations, in-jokes, rumour and wit. Maybe Adrian was a little more serious than the others, certainly more intelligent, but they swore to stay friends forever. Until Adrian's life took a turn into tragedy, and all of them, especially Tony, moved on and did their best to forget. Now Tony is in middle age. He's had a career and a marriage, a calm divorce. He gets along nicely, he thinks, with his one child, a daughter, and even with his ex-wife. He's certainly never tried to hurt anybody. Memory, though, is imperfect. It can always throw up surprises, as a lawyer's letter is about to prove. The unexpected bequest conveyed by that letter leads Tony on a dogged search through a past suddenly turned murky. And how do you carry on, contentedly, when events conspire to upset all your vaunted truths?


Scary Mommy's Guide to Surviving the Holidays

Scary Mommy's Guide to Surviving the Holidays

Author: Jill Smokler

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2014-11-17

Total Pages: 100

ISBN-13: 1501107429

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From New York Times bestselling author and acclaimed “Scary Mommy” blogger Jill Smokler comes a funny and practical guide filled with essays, recipes, and tried-and-true tips sure to get any parent through the holiday season—without losing your marbles. Ah, the holidays: a time of joy, celebration, serenity, and peace… Unless, of course, you have whiny, screaming children demanding presents, attention, and a personal appearance by Santa or Judah the Maccabee. Then you’re screwed. But wait, there’s hope: Scary Mommy Guide to Surviving the Holidays to the rescue! Yes, in this handy holiday guide, you’ll find everything you need to survive the fall/winter rush of cheer in style, and without having a mental breakdown. From relatable, hilarious essays on everything from the Santa myth to being seated at the dreaded kids’ table, to easy-to-follow recipes that might include just a little something special to take the edge off (can anyone say Kahlua?), to fun and accessible gift ideas, this book is your ticket to peace of mind—and a laugh—during the busy, crazy holiday season!


I've Still Got It...I Just Can't Remember Where I Put It

I've Still Got It...I Just Can't Remember Where I Put It

Author: Jenna McCarthy

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2014-07-01

Total Pages: 335

ISBN-13: 0698145860

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Welcome to Middle Age! Please check your functioning internal thermostat and razor-sharp memory at the door and pour yourself a nice, stiff drink... Jenna McCarthy might be forty-something, but she doesn’t feel forty-something. She certainly doesn’t look forty-something. (Actually she does, but she’s in denial so maybe don’t mention it?) And between complaining about how tired she is, trying to remember what she came in here for and wondering whether she drinks too much, she does not have time for a crisis. She has, however, had time to crack the mysterious midlife code. She’s figured out how to tame her muffin top, keep the spark in her marriage and probably not die a fiery hoarder’s death. She’s learned the trick to looking ten years younger and the secret to feeling ten times happier (and it only cost $14.99 plus shipping and handling). And she’s discovered the one thing she will need to do for the rest of ever if she’s going to continue to refuse to “dress her age.” Tackling everything from cosmetic surgery and financial panic to skinny jeans and the meaning of life, I’ve Still Got It... is a middle age manifesto filled with hilarious misadventures, humiliating confessions and occasional (hot) flashes of genius.


Pretty Much Screwed

Pretty Much Screwed

Author: Jenna McCarthy

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2015

Total Pages: 338

ISBN-13: 0425280683

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Known for her "hilarious and spot-on"* memoirs I've Still Got It...I Just Can't Remember Where I Put It and If It Was Easy, They'd Call the Whole Damn Thing a Honeymoon, Jenna McCarthy turns her comedic talents to fiction with a novel about picking yourself up out of the gutter when life kicks you to the curb... "I don't love you anymore." For Charlotte Crawford, the worst part about being dumped after twenty years of marriage is that her husband, Jack, doesn't want another woman; he just doesn't want her. Forty-two and clueless, Charlotte is a fish out of water in a dating pool teeming with losers. Just when she thinks she's finally put her failed marriage behind her, it comes back to bite her in the ass...hard. Without warning, Charlotte finds herself staring down the barrel of a future she wouldn't (she would totally) wish on her worst enemy. Engaging, fearless, and relentlessly funny, Pretty Much Screwed is a story of love, loss, friendship, forgiveness, turtledoves, taxidermy, and one hilariously ill-placed tick. *Celia Rivenbark, New York Times Bestselling Author


Everything's Relative

Everything's Relative

Author: Jenna McCarthy

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2016-02-02

Total Pages: 353

ISBN-13: 0698191862

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Her two memoirs were “hilarious.”* Her first novel, Pretty Much Screwed, was “brilliant.”** Now, Jenna McCarthy returns with a novel of crazy last wishes and life-changing first steps… When their mother dies, sisters Jules, Brooke, and Lexi breathe a collective sigh of relief. Their days of being hurt and controlled by Juliana Alexander are over. It turns out, Juliana isn’t about to let a little detail like death stop her. The three estranged sisters—one control freak, one peacekeeper and one red hot mess—are shocked to discover that their mother was hiding a massive fortune, one that promises to completely transform all of their lives. But in classic Juliana fashion, there’s a catch. Three of them, to be exact. Now Jules, Brooke, and Lexi find themselves forced to rely on one another in order to become the women their mother wanted them to be. With millions of dollars on the line and as many obstacles in the way, the sisters embark on a hilarious journey of self-discovery, forgiveness, and the real meaning of wealth. READERS GUIDE INCLUDED *Jane Heller, New York Times bestselling author **Janet Evanovich, #1 New York Times bestselling author