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Friday 18 May 2012

Momaholic by Dena Higley Review

I must start this review by saying that I have no idea why I chose this book from Booksneeze. I’ve never heard of ‘Days of Our Lives’, because I live in Portugal, so it wasn’t because I recognized Dena Highley and it isn't even because I'm a mom(aholic)... because I'm not even a mom.
Courtesy of Book Sneeze

So why choose this book? I don't know, but I really don't regret it.

Synopsis:
«Soap writer Dena Higley was all things to all people. A wife, mother of four, and head writer for Days of Our Lives, Dena ably hovered over the numerous people and responsibilities in her life, eager to right every wrong and fulfill every need. But when her very “normal” family began to spiral out of control, Dena soon became the central character in her own real-life drama, and a night spent in the ER made her realize that her pursuit of perfection was backfiring big time.
Momaholic is one woman’s private, dramatic, and often comical invitation to peek inside a time in her life where everything fell apart and she had to take an honest look at what she was doing right and what she’d been doing terribly wrong. With this simple discovery, her whacky family’s season of becoming unraveled found a new glue (other than her blood, sweat and tears) that would re-bond her family and unite them in a deeper and more functional way than ever before.
The real life characters:
* A MOM who is literally the head writer of a network soap opera… at work and at home
* A HUSBAND who expects perfection from his kids and his wife, but who has the wisdom to know he’s being unrealistic and yet, can’t help but scratch his head in frustration as his family’s troubles seem to spiral out of his control
* An autistic SON
* A popular DAUGHTER who is suddenly pregnant
* An ADOPTED DAUGHTER pulled from the jungles of Vietnam with no leg below the right knee and fingers fused together
* An ADOPTED SON from Ethiopia, rescued from the streets at the age of 9.

This is a story showing the speed with which a “normal” family can fall apart. No one dies. No one gets kidnapped. They just have to deal with each of their own issues….and then one unwanted and unplanned pregnancy. This was a church-going family whose kids were taught abstinence until marriage. With the family running around as the tornado sirens roared warnings to take cover, mother, Miss Drama, becomes the biggest mess of all and ends up finding a whole new freedom for her soul.»

I loved this book. It teached me so much about motherhood and what to expect when I have my own kids, one day.
In ‘Momaholic’ Dena Higley took self-help books to a whole new level, it’s a humorous perspective on the most beautiful and difficult job in the world… being a mom. It made me respect my mother (and all of the moms out there) like I had never respected before.
So thank you, Dena Higley, for this inspirational story about, not only your kids, but about your career and life itself.