MIMI MONDAY

Books say: She did this because. Life says: She did this.

 Books are where things are explained to you; life is

 where things arent. Im not surprised some people prefer books.

 -Julian Barnes

I've done some research;  for it turns out that my daughter is a worry-wort.  She's going to receive one of these books as a gift.  The rest of them Im going to encourage her to check out of the library.  If I cant convince her to take a chill pill, then maybe one of these wise women  can help her set down some of her anxieties.  All of these books come highly recommended.  (there are so many out there to choose from...its nice to get some personal recommendations.)  

One of America's most celebrated writers takes you home to a family and a small town so funny and unpredictable, you'd wish it were your own. "As warm as it is hilarious and believable . . . Never has the state of domestic chaos been so perfectly illuminated."--The New York Times Book Review.

Every mother should read this book. It brought back all the joy and frustrations of mothering babies and toddlers. There is a gem on almost every page. If you have a pregnant friend this book is a wonderful shower present. I want to read the authors poetry books after reading this book of letters.

In the delightfully candid, outlandishly funny Waiting for Birdy, Newman charts the year she anticipated the birth of her second child while also coping with the realities of raising a toddler. As she navigates life with her existentially curious and heartbreakingly sweet three-year-old, and her doozy of a pregnancy, she lends her irresistibly unique voice to the secret thoughts and fears of parents everywhere. Filled with quirky warmth and razor-sharp wit, Waiting for Birdy captures the universal wonder, terror, humor, and tenderness of raising a family.  review found here

I chose this one for the Book Discussion group because I was looking for a memoir and I remembered really liking this when I read it 21 years ago on the eve of Gabe's birth. I liked it just as much the second time around and reading it again now, on the eve of Gabe's transition into adulthood, made me realize what an impact this book has had on my life and the way I have raised my children. 

When I read it the first time, I kept thinking about how I spent too much of my own childhood watching Gilligan's Island instead of following my passions. Looking back on my sons' childhoods, I think they are a little closer to Dillard's than mine was. This may largely be due to our decision to get rid of the TV for several years while they were growing up. 

Anyway, I once again really enjoyed Dillard's ability to turn a phrase, her humor, her insights, and her images. Her description of the crippled moth has remained with me all these years. I was happy to be reminded of "Terwilliger bunts one" and her "hopes for her rough edges." The good news, as Dillard reminds me is that our "waking up" to ourselves is a continual process that can last through childhood and beyond.(less)  review found here

I just finished this last night, and I plan to go back through it again. It's one of the better books on raising children that I've ever read. Mogel is a child psychologist with a definite slant--for her, a lot of the answers to parenting problems lie in encouraging spiritual growth, in ourselves and in our children. You don't have to be Jewish to find great material in this book--I'm not--but you definitely need to accept the premise that human beings are happier in a spiritually enriched environment. review found here

Enright tells it like it is and she is witty, incredibly open and very moving. Much of the book was written in pieces while her baby daughter was sleeping in the same room. She writes about the beauty and strangeness of pregnancy, the vulnerability of mothers giving birth, and the joy and tediousness of having someone utterly dependent on you for sustenance. She’s also very funny, particularly when writing about “how to get trolleyed while breast-feeding”, cleaning obsessions and the difficulties of choosing just the right buggy. Enright eloquently explores her love for her daughter and son and writes intimately about the changes that happen in a relationship when children are born. 

I’ve read several memoirs of pregnancy and motherhood and this is one of the most original and candid I’ve come across. I can’t wait to get my hands on Anne Enright’s other books.  review found here

 The experience of motherhood is an experience in contradiction. It is commonplace and it is impossible to imagine. It is prosaic and it is mysterious. It is at once banal, bizarre, compelling, tedious, comic, and catastrophic. To become a mother is to become the chief actor in a drama of human existence to which no one turns up. It is the process by which an ordinary life is transformed unseen into a story of strange and powerful passions, of love and servitude, of confinement and compassion. Cusk’s account of a year of modern motherhood becomes many stories: a farewell to freedom, sleep, and time; a lesson in humility and hard work; a journey to the roots of love; a meditation on madness and mortality; and most of all a sentimental education in babies, books, toddler groups, bad advice, crying, breastfeeding, and never being alone. review found here.

and lastly but certainly not least...and probably the best of all...for Anne never fails me...
This is the one for Anna!!
Happy reading daughter!!!
Happy parenting too!!

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