The Erma Bombeck Collection- A Book Review

This collection contains 3 books, all ‘ peeping through the kitchen window’ accounts of
domestic life written in Bombeck’s usual droll yet heartfelt style.

If you want to see what I though of If Life is a Bowl of Cherries Why Am I Always in the Pits, look at my post here

In Motherhood: The Second Oldest Profession, Erma shows the ‘reality’ of Motherhood and sympathises with the aghast mother who has found parenting is not as easy as it looks to the child-free outsider. Learn from Erma valuable skills she has developed as a harried mum, such as;
Creative Nagging 101,Perfection: How to get it and how to convince your children you’ve got it. threats and promises and guilt the gift that keeps on giving.
But along with Bombeck’s usual wry style the heart message is clear,
“It is not until you become a mother that your judgement slowly turns to compassion and understanding.”

The Grass is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank reveals what life in the newly built and ever expanding suburbs is really like. The quest for a spot of lawn and a house with all the mod-cons in a kid-safe cul-de-sac has never been as truthful or as funny. Erma knows exactly what is like to have your husband wonder what you did all day, she has experienced the long wait for the reluctant repairman and knows firsthand how home improvement and decorating can cramp cash flow.

Find out more about this, and other ebooks by Erma Bombeck at Open Road Media

We Laugh, We Cry, We Cook by Becky Johnson & Rachel Randolph- A Book Review.

We laugh… As Jared’s 15 Alarm 3 Fire Truck Salsa sets Rachel’s dial to Steaming.

We cry … When Becky gives the gift of love and friendship in a bowl to Julie who sees joy in simplicity via the sharp lens of suffering.

We cook… Feasts of family love, banquets of support and nurturing and simple meals of togetherness.

We Laugh, We Cry, We Cook is part cookbook, part memoir and part devotional. We are invited into the homes and kitchens of well-known Christian writer Becky Johnson and her daughter Rachel Randolph.

Rachel serves us a slice of her home life as a new parent and as a vegan. Her stories and recipe contributions will surely change any perceptions on the inconvenience and blandness of a vegan diet.

Becky is as down to earth as her cooking style- though she will admit her head is sometimes in the clouds! Yet Becky is revealed as a person that is endlessly generous to others, with a writing style that speaks to each reader as a lifelong friend.

We laugh, We Cry, We Cook offers comfort food for the soul as well as comfort food food recipes that are also healthy and unusual. Find out more about at the blog We Laugh, We Cry, We Cook

How Lucky You Are by Kristyn Kusek Lewis- A Book Review

Kristyn Kusek Lewis points out in the Author’s Note that the mission statement of How Lucky You Are is the warning “Comparison is the thief of joy” and the novels’ three main characters are surely guilty of spotting greener grass on their friends lawn.

Waverly narrates the story and we see how she judges her friends’ lives as less arduous than her own. Waverly owns a bakery, which is hard work and also business is not going so well, her long-time partner Larry is a great match but she suffers doubt and guilt over the question of marriage and children. Her friends look to her like they have it all together.

Kate is beautiful,confident,wealthy and on her way to becoming even more glamorous riding on the wave of her husbands political career. Amy is sweet, thoughtful and the ideal ‘white picket fence’ wife and mother who glows with contentment.

The three are long-time good friends and each one is just different enough to sometimes succumb to the temptation of measuring themselves against each other. As they find themselves in situations that threaten to reveal beneath the facade they begin to learn who they really are, who their friends really are- and their friendship has a chance to deepen.

Kristyn Kusek Lewis touches on more than just the tendency in our culture to compare ourselves to impossible ideals. The issue of self-worth is further explored when the ugliness of emotional and physical abuse is uncovered. Kusek Lewis deftly shows the pain and discombobulation it causes for the victim and the sorrow and helplessness that troubles the victims friends and family. It is a deep issue and one that touches all of us in some way, and one we really don’t talk about. How Lucky You Are is a great starting place for further dialogue and investigation that can only lead to helping more people out of this sorry state.

Yes, it’s a serious subject matter however it is dealt with in way that is not so disturbing that the novel is too hard to read- in this way I think Kusek Lewis was wise because instead of tuning out and turning off we can sit with the reality and maybe let the thought grow into action in our society even after we have finished the last page.

On a lighter note one point though I must mention is the fact that Kristyn features an item from Waverley’s bakery quite prominently in the novel and when I finally swiped the last e-page there was no recipe for the famous Donut Muffin?! ( at least not in my review copy?!- Kristyn if you are willing to share this recipe here let me know!)

You can view Kristyn’s website here.