• This ARC was received directly by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
• Lies We Tell Mothers by Suzy Quinn
• Genre: Nonfiction
• Pub Date: August 1, 2019
• Rating: 4 out of 5 book stacks!

Goodreads Summary: Bestselling author of the Bad Mother books Suzy K Quinn reveals the truth behind the lies we tell mothers, one sleepless night at a time. Suzy and Demi were carefree twenty-somethings. They had fun! They didn’t have responsibilities! And then they decided to have a baby. Goodbye lazy weekends, hello sleepless nights, arguments and an addiction to industrial-strength hot chocolate. In the midst of this major life change, Suzy discovered that most parenting advice should be taken with a pinch of salt—or ten. For example: #1 Lie—Just go with your mother’s instinct. But what if your instinct is telling you to hide under the stairs? #10 Lie—Your new baby will tell you what it needs. Not if it can’t talk it won’t. #23 Lie—You should never bribe your children. You will ALWAYS bribe your children. Follow Suzy on the ultimate make-over—from nervous-wreck new mother to happy families. In this hilarious and refreshingly honest account for parents who prefer the realistic to the utopian, Suzy debunks the myths and takes us all along for the (bumpy) ride.

Warning! Warning! Yet another mom book that I have read. I’m not sure why, but for some reason I was very into reading mom books at this time. Never fear – my upcoming books have NOTHING to do with motherhood. This one is a nonfiction telling of one mom’s journey to coming to terms with her life changing from childless and carefree to mom life.

The start of the story, as any good mom tale goes, starts with the getting pregnant and the story of the birth. All moms love to share these stories. I have never met a mom that hasn’t shared some parts of these stories with me. So naturally, this is how this particular book would begin. And at first, I was not here for it. Everything was a complaint. She was about to turn 30 and thought her womb was going to turn to dust. Because she was old. I am an older mom, so I took extreme offense to this statement. My first child was a surprise when I was 34. My second was when I was 37. Putting my thoughts aside I continued on. It only took 6 weeks of trying and they got pregnant. That I don’t mind, but the constant complaining and whining of all the things that she could no longer do rubbed me the wrong way again. It took me well over a year, and a miscarriage, before I was able to have my son. So for someone to be so lucky and then complain the whole time never sits right with me.

But I kept reading. And I am glad I did. Because of the above, I took away one book stack. Everything after that was a good read for me. Motherhood is hard. But motherhood is worth it. The start and middle of the story really laid out the lies that mothers are told, and the realities. Lie #23 – You Should Never Bribe Your Children (HAH! Yes you totally should because sometimes you just need to get through a moment). #25 – Second Pregnancies Are More Straightforward. Nope.

Will I look into her Bad Mom series? I probably will. Is this a good mom lit story? Yes it is. Give it a try if you are curious what mom life can be like, but remember – everyone’s story is different!

Keep on reading!