Mother Shock: Loving Every (Other) Minute of It - Softcover

Buchanan, Andrea J.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1580050824 ISBN 13: 9781580050821

Publisher: Seal Press, 2003

Synopsis

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. It is the twilight zone of 24-hour-a-day living; where life is no longer neatly divided into day and night; the triple-impact of hormonal imbalance, sleep deprivation, and physical exhaustion. It is the stress of trying to acclimate quickly to the immediacy of mothering; a new conception of oneself, one’s role in the family and in the world; a fearful new level of responsibility, and a new delegation of domestic duties.

In this much-needed and delightfully funny collection of essays, 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.

About this title

About the Author:

Andrea Buchanan's work has been featured in the collection "Breeder: Real Life Stories from the New Generation of Mothers" and in on-line parenting magazines, including Oxygen.com's MomsOnline and hipMama.com. Her syndicated column "The Dark Side" runs on various websites, including the site she created for Philadelphia mothers, PhillyMama.com. Before becoming a mother, Andrea was a classical pianist. Her last recital was at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall, back before she knew how to play the Teletubbies theme song. She lives with her family in Philadelphia.

Review:

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

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

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

About this edition

• Publisher: Seal Press
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 1580050824
• ISBN 13: 9781580050821
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 240