I was quite skeptical about this one halfway, but the story redeemed itself. This book is exactly what I’d imagine the show Odd Mom Out would be based on.
The novel starts with Ashley, her eight-month old daughter Aubrey, husband David, and mother-in-law Gloria. Ashley thinks she’s a wreck of a mom, and buy a book that aims to help her become a better mother. What’s better, she gets selected to a Motherhood Better Bootcamp spanning over six weeks that has weekly challenges to better one’s life. Poor Ashley is constantly anxious over the state of her life including the child and her marriage, while extremely conscious of how well the other mothers are performing.
Slowly, the web untangles, and motherhood is revealed to be as messy as it is. Behind the polished Instagram feeds and Facebook profiles are the real-life worries of all mothers. Not only does this book shed a light on modern motherhood, it also encourages to see social media and mommy blogs as a veil behind which people hide and smooth out all the wrinkles in their lives. It’s living your life through a fantasy display.
I remember a looking at a forum once discussing Elsie from A Beautiful Mess, and the posters said they could only imagine what a spill on the sheets, or dirty laundry would be like in her life. ‘Lifestyle’ blogs paint a pretty picture of what an ideal life should be, and make heroes of the ‘influencers’. Also, there is a difference between superheroes and social media icons that while a hero makes us believe that an ‘other’ identity is an ideal which can be pined for, but never achieved, so no efforts in that direction would be fruitful, craft blogs make you feel less than yourself and make one undermine their worth.
I have seen countless posts by social media goddesses revealing they’re sick of the façade and that behind every gorgeous Instagram photo is hours of set-up, groggy mornings, and an absolute lack of peace. The book shows these aspects and is quite direct regarding such advertising, I believe that a conversation ensues on the issue of the motherhood of guilt.
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