Rating:  Summary: not reading other reviews Review: I am not going to read the other reviews here but just put my out on the table. It is worth reading and worth feeling and facing the truth on much of what the women are sharing. It may appear they are whining, but just face it, they are telling it like it is for their own life...not yours or mine. Let them have their say and resepct what they are saying, we all need to let off steam. I bet they all feel much better after writing this and probably built a solid relationship among all 26 women. They just want to be heard and feel validated. If you are looking for a kind and gentle but firm voice with great leadership quality, read, Mommy-CEO, GET THE REVISED EDITION, it is a family book with many contributors, and The Secure Child, by Stanley Greenspan. These are happier books and a different type of mood will set in especially if you are looking for a positive validation as a parent and a mom. Just the same, tThese 26 women have a right to vent -- just don't take it so serious. If we were to be honest, much of what they have to say sparks old feelings in our own experience at one time or another in our own life.
Rating:  Summary: Very Disappointing Review: I am a devout feminist which is why I chose to give up my career and stay home with my kids. To do otherwise seemed to not only exploit the cheap-labour of another woman, but dismiss the importance of motherhood - which is what men have historically done. I thought this book might speak to me, as an educated woman who has found herself temporarily immersed, sometimes unhappily, in domesticity.But in this book, to be a feminist means to be passionate about your job, (like the man in the grey flannel suit) and be resentful and exhausted by your children (whom you rarely see). Nearly all of the essays in this book are very well written, but the content of the essays is depressing. I'm not sure if it's because women writers are inherently neurotic, but it struck me as odd that nearly all of them spoke so easily about their therapists, affairs, open marriages, housekeepers, nannies, abortions, etc. Most of these writers are not passionate about anything, it seems, except working...or, rather, writing. It would have been nice, if there had been even ONE little essay from a stay-at-home mother. I guess we don't count because we're "wasting our lives" - a sentiment clearly present in this book. No wonder these women often speak of a lack of solidarity among women; it is borne of hypocrissy. They tout the feminist line but ultimately scorn women who put themselves second to their children as being mildewed relics of an oppressed past. In fact, a woman who puts her children first, expresses the highest level of feminist consciousness as she is claiming herself irreplacable in the most important job there is. It is a show of intense self-esteem. These sad women, scribbling words that hardly anyone will ever read, are actually to be pitied as they are clearly suffering from intense self-loathing.
Rating:  Summary: Admit it - we are all in the book! Review: If you would all admit it, some time or another in your life, we are all in this book. Single or married, it simply hits home. It might sound like a "pitty party" to some, but in secret we are all included if you are a mom who is stressed out (which most of us are). I don't especially like the title and would rather be called bossy or bad mood mom, but it hits the nail on the head. Also recommended for family tried and true tips to help prevent much of this disaster from building up inside of us are: No More Misbehavin, by Michelle Borba and Mommy-CEO, by Jodie Lynn. These two books have a total different tone. Both authors have written for some of the very same websites and been on some of the very same radio and TV shows and are a delight to hear and understand where they are coming from. Reading two to three books at once is one of my habits and these parenting books are a great combo to read along with this one. While they don't complain or gripe out loud, they still let us know that motherhood is rough and takes guts to get the job done. I loved all three books!
Rating:  Summary: Great Read Review: I couldn't put this book down and when I did I bought one for my best-friend and my mentor. This book offers honest opinions about the authors' lives. You might find that your own life mirrors some of the chaos in the pages. And, yes, the author's aren't exactly diverse in terms of race, ethnicity, and vocation; however, as a woman of color I related to many of the excerpts. This isn't whining, but rather honest rants of how hellish things can be in a world that isn't woman friendly or parent friendly.
Rating:  Summary: Just OK Review: According to this book, the everywoman in America is a neurotic, passive agressive professional writer. While I'll grant that the stories were interesting and did ring true for me in some aspects, I ended up just being annoyed that the editor failed to seek out more diverse women with more diverse professions for her book. Couldn't she have found an engineer, a black woman, a Latina to chronicle their stories? Hanauer started out with lofty goals in her introduction, but didn't end up meetig them for me.
Rating:  Summary: A Book for All Seasons of Female Life Today Review: Don't be dissuaded by this book's title. This is not a collection of whiney women lambasting their lives. It is a thoughtful and poignant look at the varied choices women make to bring meaning to their lives in our chaotic and choice-rich lives. There are essays about early marriages, essays about break-ups, essays about juggling work and children and daycare and impossibly impossible husbands. This book generously and thoughtfully covers the gamut. What moved me most was how these essays speak differently to readers, yet always with force. For women in sexually numb marriages, they may find solace in the essay about an open marriage -- realizing that perhaps they should be happier with what they have, or consider broadening the boundaries of their marriage in new ways. For childless women, these essays celebrate the ways women provide mothering roles in alternative ways, and they validate the oddity and isolation many women feel when they are not fullfilling traditional roles. It is a wonderful book to purchase as a gift, or great to pass around among a book group of girlfriends. Borrow it. Check it out from the library. But, eventually, buy it. This is one book the modern thinking woman will want to have on her shelves.
Rating:  Summary: Give me a break ladies Review: This book, God, was full of what men can't stand about cranky, complaining, PMSy women... Too many emptyheaded romance movies from Hollywood have turned these women into complaining maniacs. Maybe they should realize that movies have a PLANNED SCRIPT and are NOT REAL. And for the lady who nearly choked with anger because her boyfriend wouldn't buy her some imported cheese, God lady, if it means that much to you buy it yourself. What a lousy read.
Rating:  Summary: FIRST RATE COLLECTION OF ESSAYS Review: Poignant, clever, moving, and honest, this brilliant collection of essays is of the highest quality of writing. Each sentence rings with truth and each thought-provoking essay is rich with insights into our anger and disaastisfactions in relationships.
Rating:  Summary: Unsatisfying Review: With a few exceptions, this book is a collection of essays by cranky women. I found many of the essays to be completely embarrassing. Some of the writers must have felt that way too, because they wrote under a pseudonym. What is it with writers, anyway? It seems as though they have all been in therapy, can't commit, and complain about the most superficial things. One woman complained about the fact that her boyfriend wouldn't spring for imported cheese. She made a good living and felt she was entitled to imported cheese. Several women claimed to love their independence, but then complained about the lack of a man in their lives, and then finished up by admitting to having pushed away anyone who expressed an interest. What do these women want? This book was unsatisfying and I am sorry I wasted my time reading it. Good riddance.
Rating:  Summary: gorgeous and timely Review: A long overdue look at the often grim, darkly funny, and always somehow-worth it realities of domestic life. I loved this book so much. For hip moms everywhere, finally! A book that will make you feel sane again.
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