Ask Me What's for Dinner One More Time

July 1, 2020
The founder of a popular parenting blog brings her cheeky tales and advice to the page. As any mother will tell you, raising children is no easy task. For Masony, founder of the That's Inappropriate blog, her experiences as a wife and mother of three provide seemingly endless fodder for a series of amusing, flippant essays, divided into chapters such as "I'll Take Household Chores for 800, Alex (A Jeopardy Category Nobody Wins)" and "My Husband's Love Language Is Sex (and Other Things I've Learned in 17 Years of Marriage)." While the author covers all of the classic elements of parenting memoir--from snacks to pets to homework to endless piles of laundry--she notes that it was the discovery of a tumor that set her on the path of writing truthfully about being a mother. "Motherhood is anything but appropriate," she writes. "There are so many bodily fluids and decisions to be made. It is overwhelming, exhausting, and mind numbing at times. It will cause you to say WTF more times than you thought humanly possible. However, it will also cause a rush of emotions that are so exhilarating and fulfilling that I can honestly say, being a Mom is the most humbling and joyous parts of who I am." In addition to sharing her feelings about her husband--the love of her life, yes, but also a man unable to properly wash the dishes--she offers a candid discussion of the difficulties she has faced raising an autistic child. In each scenario, whether it's the family road trip that feels more like a prison sentence or asking other parents to leave their sick kids at home, the author is mostly successful in her balance of emotion and humor. Comical commentaries with grains of truth revealing motherhood in all its warts-and-all glory.

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August 1, 2020
Parents are stressed out. They spend an exorbitant amount of time and energy working to provide their children with the best opportunities, education, and experiences available. Mothers, in particular, often bear the brunt of this, trying to please and care for everyone except themselves. While in the trenches of raising three young children, instead of being happy and fulfilled, Masony felt restless and alone until, at 34, she was diagnosed with an esophageal tumor and experienced a sudden perspective change. Life is way too short to try to please everyone. Life is way too short to give up dreams. We get one shot." She's made it her life's mission to share this outlook with other moms and now with readers, too, writing from the heart. Authentic, hilarious, and brutally honest, she touches on subjects like taking an unbearable family road trip, dealing with crazy toddlers, different-needs parenting, and navigating marriage and sex after kids. At a time when parents may feel more overwhelmed and isolated than ever, Masony reminds readers that they are not alone.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)