even if you’re not a rabid fan of dooce.com, like bazillions of us out there are, you have to admit that the book title has you sucked right in. if you don’t know dooce, go – click over right now, check it out (just remember to come back here!). the blog, generally considered the most popular personal blog ever, chronicles the lives of author heather b. armstrong, her husband jon, her daughter leta, and her crazy dogs chuck and coco. they live in salt lake city, so i admit – the constant references to my hometown do add to the charm. but it’s just a funny, clever, well-written, smart place to be. everybody’s doing it.
so now, she’s written a book called “it sucked and then i cried: how i had a baby, a breakdown and a much needed margarita” – come on, you love her already, right? the book is all about her experience being pregnant, having a baby, having a nervous breakdown and getting through it all. now, for those of you that know me, you know i’m not so into the gory pregnancy/baby details. in fact, the more i hear, the more i’m convinced we’re a dog-based family unit. so it should say something to all of you that i finished this book the day it arrived. it’s every bit as readable as her blog – endearing and laugh-out-loud-until-you-embarrass-yourself-at-the-coffee-shop funny, even in the gross, cringe-worthy bits. i read, voluntarily, about post-baby details that i won’t let my closest friends share. but it’s good…my DINK status has been considerably bolstered by this book.
i was lucky enough to find two square inches of standing room for her reading in portland last night (literally, they had to close the room. for a book reading). and can i just say…i think i might have a bit of a girl crush on heather. she’s hysterically funny, she’s warm, she’s completely open about her life with total strangers (a frightening prospect, don’t you think?), and she has crazy dogs…just like me! plus, i admit, i love people who can say “y’all” and pull it off! so, despite the fact that she’s one of those impossibly adorable pregnant girls who looks perfect, skinny and glowy, except for the cute little basketball under their shirt, i think she’s pretty freaking fantastic (though yes, if she were walking down the street, i’d jab my husband in the ribs and complain about how it’s not fair when pregnant girls look that cute).
even though she didn’t call on me to ask her a question at the reading (it’s okay, i’m over it…really), i’m still pretty smitten by the book and its author. for those of you with kids, or for those of you who know people having kids – i guarantee you will identify with nearly every page of this frighteningly honest, gut-wrenchingly funny book. heather said at the reading that she wrote the book so that women going through what she went through would know they’re not alone. i plan to buy it for every pregnant woman i know…just so that i can give them the same message. there is, after all, safety in numbers.
