Sunday, April 6, 2008

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.

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4 comments:

twiga92 said...

Thanks for the recommendation. Have you read any of Lauren Baratz-Logsted's books? I really enjoyed "The Thin Pink Line" and its sequel "Crossing the Line".

Anonymous said...

Oh, I gotta get me this book!!! LOL Amen to the real meals!

Anonymous said...

I saw this on BookReporter and wasn't sure if I wanted to read it. The memory of it all is still too fresh in my mind. :)

Nyssaneala said...

twiga - I haven't read those yet, but I probably will someday!

kristina - I think you would really like this one!

j.kaye - How old are your kids? I didn't think I would like reading books about new moms while I am a new mom myself, but turns out they are delightful to read right now!