I’ve been reading some heavy stuff lately, from deeply traumatizing thrillers by Karin Slaughter to the super emotional Wonder. I needed a reset; something light and fun. Mainly I was looking for funny.
I found that in Confessions of a Domestic Failure by Bunmi Laditan.
I follow Laditan on social media and she is hilarious. Her posts are often a true snapshot of what being a mom really looks like. Sometimes it’s messy, sometimes it’s emotional, sometimes it’s hilarious.
What motherhood has turned into, especially on social media, is a competition. And Laditan has captured this perfectly.
This book was an easy read that had me literally laughing out loud on the subway. Once, I think the man sitting beside me thought I was having a convulsion as I tried my hardest not to snort out loud.
Ashley Keller, the books main character is a new mom trying to keep up with the rings, pings and bings of all her social media websites. She, like all of us quite frankly, can’t seem to perfect that Pinterest recipe or ensure her life is as put together as the other Instagram mommies she sees.
But one day she has the opportunity to participate in Motherhood Better Bootcamp, run by the mother of all mothers Emily Walker. Walker is the super popular, successful, mommy-blogger turned mogul with her own books, television show and products. (I pictured Kristin Chenoweth with Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop empire)
Emily Walker has the secret sauce to being a great wife, mom, housemaker, partner, friend, crafter, etc., and Ashley so desperately wants to emulate that. All of that.
Ashley is at home every day with her eight-month old, trying to get out of her yoga pants and back into the real world. Isolated, and surrounded by plastic toys, she can’t understand how moms like Emily run a household, and marriage so well.
It’s a bit of a clichéd story of supermom vs the world, however Laditan’s humour kept me hooked.
As Ashley navigates through the weekly challenges of the Motherhood Better Bootcamp, she learns more about herself, her fellow boot camp members and her idol.
I will be honest, I felt anger as I read Emily’s quotes from her book of how she’s managed to “have it all” and I think that was on purpose. This books shines a light on how real the pressure is that mom’s put on themselves, not to mention the pressure we put on each other. All this is heightened by social media. The birth (no pun intended) of the Mommy Facebook Group doesn’t help either.
The boot camp finale was slightly predictable, but still very funny,
I give the book a solid 4 stars as it was funny, engaging and a fun read for any mom.
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