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Loading... Bad Mother: A Chronicle of Maternal Crimes, Minor Calamities, and…by Ayelet Waldman
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will love Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book.  bnbooklady | Nov 19, 2009 |  The response to Waldman's infamous article in The New York Times showed how mean and ugly people can be in pushing their parenting beliefs. This collection of essays probably ticked off lots of them again, but it's really one of the most well-written, honest accounts of parenting that I've come across lately. (  ) wanack | Oct 22, 2009 | Narrated by Mia Barron. Couldn't finish first tape! Whiney, annoying voice. jazzberry | Oct 15, 2009 | It's tricky to review a book whose author regularly discusses how mean people on the internet are about her writing... This book was unusually all over the place for me, in terms of my reaction to it. There were chapters that I really enjoyed (including the last one) but also some that drove me up the wall. A lot of that is personal preference and expectation, though. I was hoping for more general discussion of parenthood and less memoir. My TMI threshold is very very high for memoir and Waldman is an enthusiastic sharer. I also thought there was something annoyingly gimmicky about treating her mental issues as a late-breaking big reveal. The chapter on abortion, however, was particularly valuable, making points that don't come up nearly often enough. I didn't really disagree with any of her parenting points/philosophies (although I've never had kids of my own), except for whether she was likely embarrassing her teenaged kids with assorted revelations. She is very Berkeley; a tolerance for that is necessary. (  ) kristenn | Oct 7, 2009 | A very honest well-written and humorous look at what it's really like to have children. Only quibble is the journalistic inserts of research every now and then. ( ) bobbieharv | Sep 26, 2009 | 
 I confess that I’ve sat a few afternoons in this Volvo reading Bad Mother (my girls and I being the sort of people who sometimes enjoy pulling over to the side of the road to read), and in the end, I am disappointed. I rush to assure you, though, that it is not the author who is to blame.
References to this work on external resources.
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In the tradition of recent hits like The Bitch in the House and Perfect Madness comes a hilarious and controversial book that every woman will have an opinion about, written by America’s most outrageous writer.
In our mothers’ day there were good mothers, neglectful mothers, and occasionally great mothers.
Today we have only Bad Mothers.
If you work, you’re neglectful; if you stay home, you’re smothering. If you discipline, you’re buying them a spot on the shrink’s couch; if you let them run wild, they will be into drugs by seventh grade. If you buy organic, you’re spending their college fund; if you don’t, you’re risking all sorts of allergies and illnesses.
Is it any wonder so many women refer to themselves at one time or another as “a bad mother”? Ayelet Waldman says it’s time for women to get over it and get on with it, in a book that is sure to spark the same level of controversy as her now legendary “Modern Love” piece, in which she confessed to loving her husband more than her children.
Covering topics as diverse as the hysteria of competitive parenting (Whose toddler can recite the planets in order from the sun?), the relentless pursuits of the Bad Mother police, balancing the work-family dynamic, and the bane of every mother’s existence (homework, that is), Bad Mother illuminates the anxieties that riddle motherhood today, while providing women with the encouragement they need to give themselves a break.
(retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:57:57 -0400)
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thoroughly enjoyed this collection of essays and Waldman’s candid voice, smart humor, and wry observations, and I wholeheartedly recommend it to readers looking for a new perspective on marriage, parenting, and some of life’s toughest decisions. 4.25 out of 5.
Read my full review at The Book Lady's Blog. (