Product Description

According to Andrea Buchanan, "mother shock" is the state in which many new parents exist during those first confusing, chaotic, and often comical years of parenting. It is the clash between expectation and result, theory and reality; a twilight zone of 24-hour-a-day living where life is no longer neatly divided into day and night. It is the stress of trying to acclimate quickly to the immediacy of mothering; of formulating a new conception of oneself, one's role in the family and in the world; of shouldering a fearful new level of responsibility and a new delegation of domestic duties. In this much-needed and delightfully funny collection, Buchanan shares the insight she gains as she moves through the stages of mother shock. From "Fear of the Double Stroller" and "Confessions of a Bottle Feeder" to "I'm an Idiot" and "Everything I Needed to Know I Learned in Playgroup," Buchanan details the unimaginably difficult and unbelievably rewarding process of becoming a mother. Spanning the first three years of her daughter's life, these amusing ruminations on mothering will strike a chord with every new mother. "

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #736900 in Books
• Published on: 2003-02-27
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 240 pages

Big Apple Parent (May 2003)
Potently honest....Buchanan's capacity for self-reflection paves the path for all mothers to explore the complex feelings that accompany motherhood.

Brain, Child Magazine (Spring 2003)
Buchanan writes in a graceful, down-to-earth style.

Philadelphia Weekly (May 2003)
Buchanan documents the anxiety and thrill of new motherhood in a way that's as entertaining as it is brave.

Customer Reviews

Excellent for first-time moms!
I read this book the other day, not expecting too much from a collection of essays from a new mom. I was astounded to discover the depth and insight with which Buchanan reveals the shock of first-time mothering. Poignant, accurate and with a wistful nostalgia for her own life, she manages to write what every new mother is thinking. Happily, I've been recommending this book to every mother I know. It's the best comfort I've found in my attempt to sort out the joy from the exhaustion of these past few months.