The Stay-at-Home Survival Guide: Field-Tested Strategies for Staying Smart, Sane, and Connected While Caring for Your Kids - Softcover

Stanton, Melissa

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1580052479 ISBN 13: 9781580052474

Publisher: Seal Press, 2008

Synopsis

Melissa Stanton’s The Stay-at-Home Survival Guide is an all-encompassing, truth-telling how-to book that addresses the many practical and psychological issues facing stay-at-home moms today.

How do you create time for yourself? Is there really time to do it all (feed the kids, keep them busy, clean the house, balance the checkbook, and take a shower)? How do you deal with the absence of the professional you"?

An invaluable resource for mothers, The Stay-at-Home Survival Guide includes interviews with stay-at-home moms, discussions with experts (family therapists, educators, medical specialists, career counselors), checklists to help you make the most of your time and keep you balanced, and Melissa Stanton’s own experiences leaving a career as an editor for People magazine to become a stay-at-home mom herself.

About this title

Review

Melissa Stanton never set out to be a stay-at-home mother.

It just sort of happened as the result of a confluence of events -- her husband taking an out-of-state job, her own long commute to a high-pressure New York magazine editing job, and the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

'I woke up one day and said, `You know what? That's it. I need to live a different life,'?' she said.

Ms. Stanton, who now lives in Davidsonville, admits she didn't know quite what she was getting into when she left the workforce. But she's gained a lot of experience and is determined to pass it on to other women.

Her book, 'The Stay-at-Home Survival Guide: Field-Tested Strategies for Staying Smart, Sane, and Connected While Caring for Your Kids,' came out June 1. It packs plenty of advice for moms who may be feeling a bit isolated and under-appreciated in their new roles.

'It's so chock-full of tips (and) practical things,' said Krista Lyons-Gould, publisher of Berkeley-based Seal Press, which put out the guide.

Ms. Stanton, 43, consulted with about 100 stay-at-home mothers and surveyed more than 60 in detail to gain a broad perspective for the book.

The guide includes chapters on everything from finances and friends to sex and strategies for keeping sane.

'There's a little humor and a lot of substance,' said Ginny Meerman of Edgewater, who has four children and has been a stay-at-home mother for 18 years.

'I'm still amazed that I did it,' she said. 'The book was a lot of work, but it was really good to have done it. I hope it gets attention. I think it's a useful book.' -- Hometown Annapolis, June 19, 2008

No one ever said that staying home with kids was easy. But now, thanks to this new book by Melissa Stanton, you'll have somewhere to turn whenever you're feeling a little lonely, under-appreciated, or overwhelmed. Stanton, a magazine editor turned stay-at-home herself, understands all too well both the joys and the challenges that come with staying home with your children full time. For this book, she draws not only on her own experience, but also on the experiences of other moms, who she spoke to and surveyed at length. With information about dealing with everything from money and scheduling to friendships and marriage, Stanton has the advice you need for every situation and the sympathy and understanding you've been hoping for. No one understands a stay-at-home mom like another stay-at-home mom, which gives Stanton the insights to make this Survival Guide a valuable resource for moms everywhere. -- Mom Central, June 26, 2008

About this edition

• Publisher: Seal Press
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 1580052479
• ISBN 13: 9781580052474
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 386