Mommy Book Review: Confessions of a Scary Mommy

Confessions of a Scary Mommy
Written by: Jill Smokler
Published by: Gallery Books, 2012
176 pages

from goodreads.com:
Confessions of a Scary Mommy is a collection of original essays that take an irreverent look at the underbelly of parenting—things most moms would never admit, but feel every day. Brutally honest and hysterically funny, Confessions will leave you feeling less alone in the sometimes overwhelming and exhausting world of motherhood. 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 very select club. Chapters cover everything from husbands (“If he could be carried around in a Baby Bjorn all day, he would.”) to other people’s kids (“Other people’s kids are just useless, bad influences who play no necessary role in our lives.”) to PTA fundraisers (“It brings out the worst in people…and who wants an overpriced roll of wrapping paper, anyway? How about something we actually want to buy? Alcohol, for instance.”) Each chapter begins with the best anonymous confessions from Smokler’s popular online Confessional.

Whether you’re a mom, a dad, a grandmother, a grandfather, an aunt, an uncle, a teacher, a godparent, or a teenager in need of birth control, Confessions of a Scary Mommy will be sure to leave you nodding your head in agreement and laughing out loud.

* I first heard about this book in a recent issue of Parenting magazine.  I read an anonymous confession from a mom about how she goes to the gym for the free babysitting and reads magazines in the locker room.  It had me laughing and made me want to read this book.  Each chapter begins with anonymous confessionals from moms left on author Jill Smokler's website Scary Mommy.  Then Smokler adds her own comments, opinions, and anecdotes about the chapter topic.  As I read this, I could relate to some of the anonymous confessionals like "I love when my kids are sick and I don't have to feel guilty for letting them watch constant TV and never leave the couch" and "I'm married, but sometimes I feel like a single parent."  Other confessionals made me feel better about myself and my parenting skills....not that I judge, but I think all moms worry about being  a "perfect parent."  This is just a good book that moms....and dads (I had my husband read some of these confessionals!) can read for some humor about the wonderful world of parenting. 

* I borrowed this book from my library.

Mommy Rating: 1 1/2 thumbs up.