The Benalish Momma was sent a book by one of her girlfriends. And–not for the first or last time–I promptly stole it and finished it before she got more than halfway through. It’s a collection of essays on motherhood & midlife by Jessi Klein, writer for a number of TV shows.

I highly, highly recommend this book. First, more books should be essays. It’s a lot more compatible for the parenting lifestyle, where sneaking 30 minutes of uninterrupted reading is quite the treat. Second, it hits the sweet spot of dealing with weighty issues but with humor and flair. Example from the text:

…I urgently flagged down one of his teachers. “Asher probably isn’t gonna wear his costume,” I whisper-screamed into her ear. “Don’t take it personally.” “Okay,” Sharon said, with that calm voice teachers use when they have to talk to parents who think they’re successfully hiding that they’re having a nervous breakdown.

Needless to say, this really hits the sweet spot for my approach to parenting & life. Just because it’s serious and important, doesn’t mean it’s not also ridiculous and hilarious.

I think it also has some really important pieces of fathers, despite having “motherhood” in the title. Some of the essays deal with What Clothes Do I Wear Now?, the post-partum Underwear Sandwich, and other things that I am sort of aware of in the abstract, but holy hell does it give me an additional appreciation for everything my wife puts up with. There’s a loose connective thread of the archetype of the Hero’s Journey that does a good job of grounding the work.

Amazon Link for your convenience: I’ll show myself out