Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son's First Year

Rating:
Summary: Well written -- a fun quick read
Review: I enjoyed this book much more than the "Girlfriend's Guide". It's funnier and more intelligently written. The book is a journal of the author's first year as a single parent. The book focuses on the insanity and joy of that year and includes some of the best descriptions ever.

Rating:
Summary: Candid, weird and wonderful
Review: Anne Lamott's "Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son's First Year" is one of the most honest--painfully so--books I've ever read on both pregnancy and new motherhood. Given the strictures of Lamott's situation at the time--no man around to help her or take responsibility for his child--the humor in this book is nothing short of amazing. After a particularly frustrating episode of feeding solids to her son Sam, Lamott writes that the process is a lot like spackling; you fill the hole with stuff, scrape around the sides, try to pack some more stuff in the hole, and so on. This was so true and so perfectly described that I laughed out loud with recognition. Although Lamott's situation isn't everyone's, the difficulties, fears and joys she describes herein are universal to most new parents. This makes a marvelous gift for the new mom who has everything else and who could use a good laugh.

Rating:
Summary: Yes, I can relate!
Review: A very personal and honest account of a year of highlights and low-lights of being a new mother.

It brought back lots of memories, brought on a few tears, and made me wish I'd kept a journal of my son's first year, to share with him once he's older.

I'd recommend this not only to mommies but especially for mommies-to-be because this is one of the few books that doesn't sugar-coat new mommy-hood but still makes you feel that it's well worth it.


Rating:
Summary: Oh Please...
Review: This book is so unabashedly poor-me drivel that I can't believe it was published. I loaned it to a writer friend of mine, and she is of the same sentiment. Motherhood does not need to be this melodramatic, this difficult. Oh please.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful
Review: This book was given to me at my baby shower and now that my son is just over a year old, I have finally had the time to read it. I could KICK myself for not picking it up sooner. It was fun, warm, loving and very, very HONEST. While I didn't document what life was like during my first pregancy, because of this book, I now intend to record everything about my son and mothering my son, so I can look back on it in the future and share it with him.

I am not a single parent, but my husband does go away for long periods of time and I therefore know what it's like to be on my own as a mother. The author, however, faces everything alone and shows tremendous strength and courage with the undertaking. She's a little out there (not the type who fades into the woodwork), but she proves that pregnancy and motherhood has many universal features.

I highly recommend reading this book--or giving it as a gift during your next baby shower.

Rating:
Summary: very timely, even today
Review: Anne LaMott wrote this book during the first Bush presidency --. In several passages, she chronicles her hatred of Bush senior & encourages her little Sam to grow up to be leader of the rebel forces. When I read this book, I had to go back & look at the copyright date; I felt like I was reading something written in 2004. LaMott is self-deprecating and quick to acknowledge all of her wonderful supporters & friends. This is a great read for new moms, particularly those who are disenchanted with the current president & state of the world generally.

Rating:
Summary: Baby steps
Review: I read this during my maternity leave and I can't think of a better novel for new moms. Somehow Lamott is able to make the tough first year of her son's into a hilariously funny read. She's dealing with alot more than sleeplessness and colic-- staying sober, single motherhood, and financial woes are just the beginning. Love for her son, faith in God, and a bevy of supportive friends and family help her along the way. Great to read if you're a new mom because you can compare notes (yeah, my kid does that) and can easily empathize. Religion fills in the gaps of her life, without dominating the novel. Lamott's writing is honest and evocative. Makes you wonder if there's going to be an updated version, since baby Sam must be a teen by now.

Rating:
Summary: Well written -- a fun quick read
Review: I enjoyed this book much more than the "Girlfriend's Guide". It's funnier and more intelligently written. The book is a journal of the author's first year as a single parent. The book focuses on the insanity and joy of that year and includes some of the best descriptions ever.