How I Had a Baby, A Breakdown, and a Much Needed Margarita

It Sucked and Then I Cried by Heather B. Armstrong
Several years ago I went and read the archives of Dooce.com, so it wasn't a question of whether I would read Heather's book, but when I would read it. In case you missed it from the book's subtitle (also the title of this post itself) the story basically captures the time in Heather's life when after the birth of her first child when she suffered and then recovered from postpartum depression. But if you're not really at the time in you're life where you think about babies, just trust me and don't stop reading yet.

If you haven't read Heather's over-the-top sarcastic humor before you might be a little surprised. She spends pages freaking out about the fact that her baby looks worse than a hobo baby when she's out in public with only one sock, or how she always assumed that people purposely covered babies' faces with baby food only for fun, and then of course there's the tells from the bathroom. Just know that if you're not prepared for her humor it come off as a shock.

One of the complaints a lot of blog readers have about the book is that is basically is the blog, which is completely true. There are chapters that are clearly pieced together of multiple blog entries. And while I did recognize some of them, it was more like recognizing an old friend, instead of feeling completely repetitive.

If you haven't read Dooce.com before I think this book is a great introduction to the Hamilton family, and their humor. But even if you have, I think it's still enjoyable. Of course I enjoy rereading books in general, and in some ways this did feel like a reread to since there was nothing starling new. But it was nice to relive this part of Heather's life with her, and I'm glad I finally picked it up.

4/5