An irreverent and captivating memoir about the unexpected joys and glaring indignities of pregnancy, childbirth, and parenthood - from the beloved creator of the most popular personal blog on the web, dooce.com Heather Armstrong gave up a lot of things when she and her husband, Jon, decided to have a baby: beer, small boobs, free time -- and antidepressants. The eighteen months that followed were filled with anxiety, constipation, nacho cheese Doritos, and an unconditional love that threatened to make her heart explode. Still, as baby Leta grew and her husband, Jon, returned to work, Heather faced lonely days, sleepless nights, and endless screaming that sometimes made her wish she'd never become a mother. Just as she was poised to throw another gallon of milk at her husband's head, she committed herself for a short stay in a mental hospital -- the best decision she ever made for her family. To the dedicated millions who can't get enough of Heather's unforgettably unique style and hilarious stories on her hugely popular blog, there's little she won't share about her daily life as a recovering Mormon, liberal daughter of Republicans, wife of a charming geek, lover of television that exceeds at being really awful, and stay-at-home mom to five-year-old Leta and two willful dogs. In It Sucked and Then I Cried, Heather tells, with trademark wit, the heartfelt, unrelentingly honest story of her battle with postpartum depression and all the other minor details of pregnancy and motherhood that no one cares to mention. Like how boring it can be to care for someone whose primary means of communication is through her bowels. And how long it can possibly take to reconvene the procedure that got you into this whole parenthood mess in the first place. And how you sometimes think you can't possibly go five more minutes without breathing in that utterly irresistible and totally redeemable fresh baby smell. It Sucked and Then I Cried is a brave cautionary tale about crossing over that invisible line to the other side (the parenting side), where everything changes and it only gets worse. But most of all, it's a celebration of a love so big it can break your heart into a million pieces. |
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 Love it. |
| Review Date: March 24, 2009 |
| Reviewer: M. Carey, |
I also saw an early copy of this book, and I think it is funny, relatable, and extremely well-written. I love Heather's style and her willingness to share some deeply personal feelings so that others may know that they aren't alone.
A previous reviewer mentions how she is a parent and can't stand how Heather talks about her love for Leta as well as her resentment. I can fully, FULLY, appreciate this duplicity. Knowing that someone else had those feelings too was an incredible comfort in the early days after my daughter was born.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone.
Well done, Blurbodoocery! |
The baby blog to end all baby blogs comes to a bookshelf near you
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| Review Date: April 1, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Joe Sixpack -- Slipcue.com, ...in Middle America |
"It Sucked And Then I Cried: How I Had a Baby, a Breakdown, and a Much Needed Margarita"
by Heather B. Armstrong
(Simon & Schuster, 2009)
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Heather Armstrong, the author of the dooce website, is one of the most famous bloggers in the world. She is famous in part for being the poster child for what can happen when real life crosses into the blogosphere -- Armstrong was fired from her job because her bosses decided her "personal" blog was inappropriately commenting on workplace activities (She was lampooning coworkers and workplace situations that they felt were too easily recognized, and reprimanded her, even though the blog itself was produced on her own time and not on the company clock... As a result, Armstrong has been interviewed many times about how having a blog can have unforeseen fallout in your daily life... etc., etc.)
Mostly, though she is known for writing a baby blog -- the mother of all baby blogs -- and for being very, very funny. Armstrong began chronicling her pregancy, birth, motherhood (and subsequent post-partum depression) on dooce, and she was about a year ahead of our family in the whole parenting thing: my wife is a big fan. The birthing-to-toddler years, which form the core of this book, were dooce at its peak -- Armstrong was unflinchingly, unfailingly outspoken, outrageous, hilarious and insightful. Her use of all caps to show GREAT EMOTION AND AGITATION is unmatched by anyone else online. Somewhere along the line, though, dooce began to lose its mojo -- we grew alienated when the blog shifted from the kids-poop-the-darnest-things level into more egocentric discussions about things like the new house they had bought, their expensive new camera, and Armstrong's budding celebrity in the blogging world, about conferences she was attending and interviews she was giving. Somewhere along the way, Armstrong had ceased to be One Of Us and had suddenly become One Of Them, a famous person, a celeb, and she displayed a lot of the self-involvement that comes with the territory (as well as with the whole blogging phenomenon). My wife still reads dooce, but it is seldom as bright and witty an event as it once was.
The transition from a daily blog into a full-fledged book raises interesting issues. In the main, Armstrong is mining her old posts for material, which is fine since that old bloggage is great stuff, and a lot of her funniest, most insightful work is included here. Gone, though, is the day-to-day intimacy of the real-time diary -- nothing new is going to appear on your screen the next morning and the constraints of this old-media presentation means that Armstrong has to produce something with a beginning, a middle and an end. The through-line she chooses is how becoming a parent, and having an infant (and then a toddler) on her hands eventually became so stressful that she turned to antidepressant medication for help, and even had herself briefly committed into an institution. The response she got from her audience was explosive: countless readers wrote in to condemn her for endangering her baby, and the online debate that followed was remarkable. It also marked a turning point for her blog -- maybe it was the meds that changed her writing? Who knows? At any rate, this is a lively, fun and substantial book. Although Armstrong employs the post-millennial uber-ironic mode of communication, she still imparts writing with meaning and doesn't mask her impressions of life with cheap ironies or empty pop culture references. Dooce, the blog, and the book it has become, documents the transition of a young, hip urban professional into an adult, a person who learns how having children can profoundly change your perception of the world around you, and how it can bring great anguish as well as great joy. It is an honest book, a deep book, and a hilarious book -- well worth reading and a cut or two above the rest. Definitely worth checking out. |
It was Great, and then I Laughed
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| Review Date: March 24, 2009 |
| Reviewer: William Farrell, Houston |
This book may be hazardous to my health.
My wife just told me that if I interrupt her one more time with a, "listen to this!" quote from Heather's book that she's going to beat me to a pulp with it. It didn't surprise her at all when I started reading passages to the cat.
This book is a riotous carnival of images. Heather doesn't just take you on the roller coaster, she takes you through the whole park: Tunnel of Love, Funhouse, side show, hot dogs with sauerkraut.
On maternity clothes - "And I even surrendered and bought a pair of elastic-bellied denim trousers that did nothing but make me look like a cheap concubine in Humpty Dumpty's harem."
On Chuck the dog - "Chuck was constantly smelling my breath and licking my face, searching for bits of the burrito I'd eaten last week."
On pregnant women - "One: the only way I knew these women were pregnant was because they looked pregnant, and I was taking a huge risk in assuming that their giant bellies were filled with humans and not just a whole bunch of Oreos."
On Jon and chicken wings - "And I gave him that extra wing. It was my little way of saying, hey, I notice you didn't leave. Thank you."
What I really like about this book is that there is an interesting, amusing turn-of-phrase or off-the-wall comment on every page. Every. Page.
That's probably why I risk death by pulping; there's so much to share. And it's more than just the humor. Heather tells a story filled with love, warmth, thoughtfulness, heartfelt sincerity and complete openness. Through Heather's eyes everyday events like losing a sock on the way back from the store, or feeding a baby sweet potatoes become sagas of epic proportions with always a lesson learned.
Well, it was predictable. The cat just walked off, but I don't give up that easily. Hey, Kink, come back and listen to what Heather wrote about cheese nachos! |
Bring another round!
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| Review Date: August 29, 2009 |
| Reviewer: T. M. Enos, Northwest |
I am rarely, rarely compelled to write a review for a book, but the moment I finished this one I came to my computer to write. I loved this book. I am not a mom, not sure if I'll ever be a mom, so I cannot relate directly to her experiences, yet she writes so accessibly, so honestly, that I felt like one of her closest friends. Indeed, I thought of all of my girlfriends who are new moms as I read this book and I am recommending it right and left.
I love that she is hilarious and heartbreaking all at the same time. I love that she is gut-wrenchingly, unflinchingly honest. I love that she loves, loves, loves her husband.
Depending on your sensibilities, her language - in her honesty - is coarse. But it fits - it's real.
In her acknowledgments, she thanks her daughter for letting her share this story so that others might not feel so alone; in turn, I thank the author for the very same. |
Pleased
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| Review Date: July 6, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Jen618, |
| I found this book to be very interesting, honest and on track with the experiences of new mothers. I found myself laughing out loud many times while reading this book. Many of the subjects Heather talks about are the things expecting mother's need to hear, but no one tells them. I wish I had this book to read after my son was born. I will buy this book for friend's who are expecting! |
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