When Did I Get Like This?

I could totally relate to every experience the author described. I laughed and cried through the entire book. It took me 1 week to finish; whereas, it normally takes me 3-6 months to finish a book.

As the mom of a 6 year old, I can completely relate to the author's constant worry over "getting it right" for her children, when it comes to activities or events where there are enormous expectations put on the parents (usually the mom). For example, when her son was named "Person of the Week," the class pig (stuffed animal) was sent home to spend the weekend with their family, and the entire visit was to be documented in a giant scrapbook. The scrapbook was already full of adventures from all of the other families, since the author's son was the last person on the schedule to have the "Person of the Week" honor and the aforementioned pig visit. I would have done exactly the same thing as the author, struggling to come up with a visually-exciting portrayal of an awesome weekend for the pig, which was actually during a rainy weekend with no plans. As a parent, you want things to be right for your child, from the big, obvious things down to the ridiculous.....for example, the night before "Show & Tell" at our house is a little stressful for me because I want him to have something that the kids think is cool and something that my son is excited about, and that they can take turns playing with (one of the requirements in his class). I end up feeling like a political campaign manager, trying to maneuver my pint-sized candidate through the pitfalls of public life! And I am thrilled to know that I am not the only one, since Amy Wilson so vividly related her similar feelings and experiences in this very entertaining book. I wanted to read this book because I saw myself in the title right away: it was dead-on, right down to buying those darn Dinosaur Chicken Nuggets, which I have to admit to doing once (OK, maybe twice). I expected this book to be funny, just based on the title alone, and it absolutely was both amusing and laugh-out-loud funny. What was surprising about this book was that, amidst all of the entertaining stories about motherhood, the author bravely pulled back the curtain to let us see (and feel) another dimension of motherhood: the anxiety, pain, and frustration that sometimes take over in between the moments of joy and hilarity. For example, she takes us through the agonizing waiting game of trying to get pregnant (the hard way, with fertility problems), right down to taking multiple home pregnancy tests that were all positive and STILL driving herself crazy with worry that it might somehow be a mistake. Then waiting for the call from the fertility specialist's office for confirmation that she was pregnant, only to get a hard-to-interpret message that she and her husband agonized over, listening to replay after replay, parsing the words and concentrating on the tone of voice, desperately trying to determine if it meant she was or was not pregnant. There were no laughs here, it was raw emotion. I felt like I wasn't just reading the story, but that I was part of the story, riding the emotional rollercoaster with them

Amy Wilson has written a funny memoir about being a mother, and a not very relaxed one at that. I've read lots of parenting guides -- some guide books, others memoirs. This I would put under advice book, specifically -- lighten up on yourself a bit -- and I would say it's one of the more enjoyable of the genre. Wilson excels at depicting the worry that parents feel once they have little beings they're responsible for, and her anecdotes go for the universal -- trying not to show favoritism, the profound changes that come with becoming a parent , making decisions that will affect your child's life, etc. She does this with great humor, fine writing, and a sympathetic point of view. She seems to be a fine mom, and is a terrific author. Very funny. Very human.

Thank you, Amy Wilson, for writing a book to remind mothers that it's okay to be less than perfect. Wilson bares all in the story of her early days as a mom. Beginning with her first pregnancy, the author recounts the joys, struggles and stresses that come with caring for an infant, toddler, and finally, young child. Wilson realizes early on that being the perfect mother, as portrayed in the media, is a near impossibility. After trying over and over to do things "right" (for instance, the way television depicts mothers), Wilson slowly becomes the mother most of us are today. The one who cares deeply for her children, who does everything she can for her kids, but who doesn't freak out if a child plays in a sandbox and forgets to "purell" afterwards. Wilson's witty and somewhat self-deprecating manner kept me laughing throughout When Did I Get Like This? While my own kids are now getting ready to head off to college, I found myself grinning and remembering those days when like Wilson, I was overwhelmed, underappreciated, and felt inadequate. The author is spot on with her descriptions of daily life with three young children and how they changed her life. I particularly appreciated her observation that when her husband took the kids for five minutes, he was praised by family and strangers alike as the perfect father but she received no accolades for doing her "job" of raising the kids. Looking frumpy, yes, being the perfect mother, no. Gosh, that sounded so familiar. Wilson tackles all sorts of subjects within the child-rearing spectrum from childbirth to the ridiculously competitive nursery school application process in New York City. The author takes on issues such as her two sons' sibling rivalry and how they learned to play each other and their parents with hysterical accuracy. She's not afraid to show her own shortcomings as well as her children's imperfections (for example, when they learned to lie). Indeed, by exposing all, in a humorous way, the author has written a book that can be enjoyed by every mother who has "been there, done that." Quill says: With wit, sarcasm, and a bit of self-deprecation, Wilson takes the reader on a whirlwind ride through the life-changing role of motherhood.

A few days ago my wife walked into our living room and tossed this book on the coffee table, it sliding down to meet my feet, and she said "thank you", with a smile that read `honesty' plastered across her face. The "thank you" she uttered was because, a few weeks ago, I handed her this book as we were getting on a plane. Being pregnant with baby number two has not been the easiest time in the world for my wife. Her first pregnancy was spectacular. She was never sick, always feeling fresh and happy, so much so that she would make comments like "I wish I could stay pregnant forever". She was in heaven. This pregnancy has been a complete 180. She is sick every night, always feeling run down and tired and depressed. She has been stressing over getting older, feeling as though being a mother is going to take away her youth. I thought that this would help. Thankfully it did. With her approval and strong recommendation (and the fact that I needed to read it before I could review it), I pried open this book and sunk my teeth in, and I never wanted to stop. I gobbled up every page as quickly as they came. I was so absorbed in this little book because it was SO true. I think I should state right off that I am a VERY hands-on dad. Ever since my wife got pregnant with baby number one, I have read every parenting book she had. I attended all the classes willingly. I am in charge of bedtimes. I give the baths. Basically, when I come home from work, that baby (now nearly 3) is mine. Being a father is something that I have always known I wanted, and it is something I have never taken for granted. So, when reading this book I knew exactly what Amy was talking about, because I am just as much a `mother' and my wife. I will also say that I was no where near as panicky about being `perfect' as my wife was, but I know exactly what Amy is referring to, because I've seen it. The lovely thing about `When Did I Get Like This?' is that it is honest. Amy Wilson is not trying to create an image of herself that is holier than thou. She is not trying to tell you how to be a mother. She is just trying to help you see that the best mothers are the ones who learn, over time, to relax. As a parent, you are always going to want what is best for your child, and so that usually means that you sink your teeth way too far into what the media and your parents and your friends have to say about parenting. You often feel like a failure when you see another mother doing something you deem better than what you are doing instead of realizing that being a good mother (or a good parent in general) is about so much more than feeding them organic foods and making sure they get into the `right' pre-school. But, as Amy so brilliantly proves, worrying is a big (and very important) part of a mothers job. Written in a way that is humorous, engaging and relatable, `When Did I Get Like This?' is one of the best reads I've encountered in a while. It is breezy and ver