The Bright Side of Disaster - Katherine Center

Title: The Bright Side of Disaster

Author: Katherine Center

Year: 2007

Country: USA

Pages: 245

Rating: 4 out of 5

These days, I treasure the light, easy reads that I can soar through while Maya is sleeping. I am especially starting to like the sub-genre of chick-lit I refer to as "the mommy books". There is no shortage of these (most of which I haven't read yet): Shopaholic and Baby, Slummy Mummy, Mommy Tracked, and The Bright Side of Disaster. I stayed away from all of these for a while, until I received a copy of The Bright Side of Disaster to review through Sk*rt.

Jenny Harris is nine months pregnant and not quite married. Her and her fiancee Dean accidentally started their family a little earlier, but Jenny doesn't mind until Dean walks out one day and doensn't come back. Until she goes into labor the very next day. 

What follows is Jenny's slightly unrealistic but highly amusing experience with single motherhood. Although the beginning was a bit slow, about 50 pages in I was completely drawn in to the story. It was particularly enjoyable to read about a mother who seemed to be following a pseudo-attachment parenting philosophy. Her description of engorgement when her milk came in was hilarious (except, in my life, it did not go away nearly as quickly). With my husband on call for 30 hours straight every 3 days, I could completely relate to Jenny's lack of showering, and general household chaos. The birth that doesn't go according to the birth plan, constant walking/pacing/rocking of a newborn, breastfeeding, babywearing, bone crusing fatigue, the joy of cooking a real meal after weeks of nuts, cereal, and other items you can pop in your mouth with one hand - it was refreshing to read about someone else's experiences as a new mother that was not painted as all roses, even if that someone was a fictional character.

Also reviewed by:

• Maw's Books
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• Caribousmom

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