Closed - "Bad Mommy" Book Review & Giveaway - USA & Canada

Thursday, May 31, 2012
When I first found out about this book, I was beyond curious. What could a book entitled "Bad Mommy" be about? What could it possibly pertain to and what point might it tackle? My gut feeling was telling me this book was loaded with potential. I knew a hoard of mommies out there who needed to know of the existence of this book. Thus, I wanted to share it with my readers. Then, when Willow Yamauchi, author of "Bad Mommy", accepted my book review offer, I was over the moon! Before I embarked on the reviewing journey though, Willow warned me on the edginess of the book. I enjoy edginess. If it isn't sugarcoated, the better. Tell it how it is, that's how I roll. And once I had read her guest post for S.O.S. Mom, way before even starting to read her book, I knew what she meant. I knew I was in it for a treat!

As mommies, we are put under the microscope for about pretty much everything and anything we do, or don't do. Society has dictated a certain mommy code, and if we, mommies, do not oblige by it, we are doomed. We get tagged as a "Bad Mommy". And quite honestly, no matter what we do, how we do it, when we do it, with whom or with what, we will get discarded into the "Bad Mommy" basket. We try our best, that's undoubted. But despite it all, even when we believe we are doing it right and what's best for our children, someone, somewhere will be standing by just waiting to pop our lovely little bubble. Oh, and what about the "comparison game" played by other mommies?! The animosity felt by women towards each other when it comes to baby business?! Well, that too, seems to be a common trend in the world we live in. You will be looked and frowned upon for whatever you do that is not quite "by their book". Basically, forget about all the numerous good intentions you have when entering mommyhood, you are set to fail. And that's mainly the message Willow tries to communicate through the book. We need to stop trying to rely and act on what society (or our entourage for that matter) thinks is right or acceptable and just do what feels right for us, what we are comfortable with and what makes us happy, individually. And that is really the essence of this book. Whatever relates to mommyhood, near or far, and whatever mommies deal with from the moment they are pregnant to the time their offspring leaves the nest. Willow addresses the subject matter with humour, satire, straightforwardness, and definitely doesn't beat around the bush to say what needs to be said!
 
I would like to share an excerpt of the book that I considered truly comical, moreover veracious.


"...Positioning your baby to sleep is likewise ripe grounds for showing your failure as a parent. Sleep positioning rules have changed no less than three times in the last ten years. First, babies were to sleep on their tummies so that vomit would spill out their darling little mouths and they would not choke to death. Then, no, that was terrible! Babies had to be propped on their sides so that vomit could drain out of their darling mouths with no choking. Of course, a year or so later, this changed again and all good mommies put their babies to sleep on their backs so that the vomit can drain out of their darling little mouths and they will not choke to death somehow (like babies actually stay in the position you put them to sleep in anyway). Babies not sleeping on their backs will likely get SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome) and die, the direct result of poor sleep positioning by their bad mommy. Likely by the time this book is published, babies will need to sleep suspended upside down from the left ankle only, which will allow for optimal vomit drainage."

So, let me cut straight to the chase... I loved this book. Purely refreshing. It sheds light on the mommy guilt we all (let's face it) go through. And instead of feeling guilty about it, Willow teaches us how to take it with a grain of salt and deal with it with humour. I must say, she really hit the nail right on the mommyhood head. Each chapter discusses a different aspect of mommyhood. Single mommy, weight, breastfeeding, clothing, car seats, money, television, school, pets, sports, sex, just to name a few. Additionally, each chapter contains a real-life experience from either one or two mommies, spilling their beans on the subject and sharing their own personal views and opinions. "Bad Mommy" is, by far, a book you need to add to your library. You will appreciate the nice, fun change from your usual and typical mommy-baby books.


Bad Mommy on Facebook
Willow Yamauchi on Twitter
Insomniac Press on Facebook
Insomniac Press on Twitter

One lucky reader will get the chance to win this awesome book. Winning is easy! All you need to do is enter! Open to US and Canadian residents from June 1st to the 8th, 12:01 a.m. EST time.


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11 Fabulous Comments:

Holly said...

This book sounds like a breath of fresh air in our bitter, drama-loving society that loves to pit women against each other and put labels on us. Thanks for making me aware of this book!

Mellissa said...

Happy June :O) hope you have a great summer.

Unknown said...

Great review! I think society judges way too much, and tries to change what has worked for mothers for thousands of years. I'm a fan of progress, but judging others by standards created by people nobody's ever heard of is too much. Thank for sharing this!

LOVE MELISSA:) said...

What a great review!!!! Thank you!

Pynk said...

Absolutely loved the excerpt you posted. So many mommy books have a dry, fact driven tone to them. It was great to see a book about this subject written with such humor & grace. Fantastic review!

jamie w said...

its been three years almost since i've had a baby, due in august, what rules have changed since? haha would love to read this book.

Crib Couture said...

Thanks for the chance to win. I think most of us mommies, could use a little humor in our great race to be Super Mom!

Melissa said...

Thank you for the great review and thank for the giveaway :o)

Unknown said...

Thanks for the opportunity to win this! You wrote a really great review of the book and I hope I win this so I can read it!

daisies0999(at)yahoo(dot)com

MommyHeadache said...

The book sounds wonderful. We parents suffer too much from performance anxiety so this is a welcome antidote to that. I wrote a similar book called Cocktails at Naptime. www.cocktailsatnaptime.com Pop around for a cocktail any time!! x

hollygunter said...

i would LOVE to win this book! there's way too much pressure on us moms to be perfect when there's no such thing as perfection, especially when it comes to parenting!

hollyngunter@gmail.com

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