You may or may not be aware that my husband and I spent six long years dealing with secondary infertility.  Those were the hardest years of my life HANDS DOWN.  What would I have given during that time to have a firsthand account of how a guy feels, going through it?  As it was I gobbled up every book about infertility I could get my hands on.  But the story from a guy’s perspective… that’s something I know would have appealed to me.  Shoot, it appealed to me now and infertility is a diagnosis that we’ve left far, far behind us.

“Maybe Baby: An Infertile Love Story” is a memoir written by Matthew M. F. Miller that was sent to me to review by the fabulous Parent Bloggers Network.  But more than a chronicle of this couple’s journey through infertility, it’s a tale about romance.  About how this couple was determined to weather the storm together.  And that was the facet of this story that I related to the most.  Because even when we were at our lowest, burying our stillborn son, I always knew we had each other’s back.  We were going through it together.  More than anyone else, my husband knew what I was going through and it was the same for him.  In fact, I would argue that a couple needs to come together in order to make it through infertility intact.

This story has it all, humor, drama, sadness and perspective.  If you haven’t been through infertility yourself, it gives you a good window into what it really feels like to be on that side of the fence.  If you have been through it, then you find in Matthew a blood-brother of sorts.  Comfort in numbers, misery loves company… that whole shtick.

All in all, this book is definitely worth a read.  Check it out.

I was so excited to have a chance, via the Parent Bloggers Network, to review this book.  If you haven’t heard of it by now (what rock have you been living under?), it’s an anthology of some of the best mommy blogging posts from around the blogosphere.  Some of the blogs that are featured are highly popular and some are less so.  But each and every blogger has contributed something wonderful to this book, no matter what their traffic reports indicate.

Rita Arens of Surrender, Dorothy is the brainchild of this heartwarming anthology.  She worked so hard for months on this project, contacting bloggers to contribute, pitching the book to publishers and working with BlogHer to finish the job.  The result is a clever, funny, touching and humbling book that belongs on every mother’s bookshelf.  Seriously, they should pass this out in the maternity ward along with the striped caps and newborn pacifiers.

And remember when I said there were some fabulous bloggers involved in this book?  There are essays from Amalah, Finslippy, Fussy, and Rancid Raves (to name a few).  There’s even a daddy blogger in there.

This was the sort of book I could take with me and read on the go, curl up with at night and sink into or whatever my schedule happened to dictate that day.  Within the pages you’ll find advice and, more importantly, camaraderie.  After all, part of what makes blogging so successful is that it reminds us that we’re not alone.  Regardless if the topic is breastfeeding, returning to work, sleep (or the lack thereof) or how being a mother just utterly changes you, this book covers all the bases.

This book makes me proud to be a mommy blogger.  I can see what blogging can accomplish, what it really is all about.  I highly suggest you pick up a copy.  And then grab another copy to give your best friend.

To read more about the book and it’s contributors (and to see if there’s a book signing taking place near you), check out the BlogHer website.

I was sent this book, gosh, about a year ago. And I’ve been dying to talk about it ever since. Along the same lines as Mrs. Fussypants’ completely awesome MarriageHacks site and League of Extraordinary Wives, this book discusses how we might be sabotaging our own marriages and how we can make our relationship with our husbands better during what is admittedly a very rough time: childrearing!Like I said, I wanted to talk about this book back when I first received and read it, but my own blog never seemed like quite the right venue for such a discussion. Still, this book seemed too great NOT to talk about. The pages seemed to be brimming with humor, insight and practical application. I tried to make up for it by recommending this book to every parent I know, especially if they’ve just had a baby. I don’t know if any of them took me up on it, but if not then it was their own loss.

Like I said, this book made an enjoyable read as well as an informative one. Authored by friends Stacy Cockrell, Cathy O’Neill and Julia Stone, it was filled with silly cartoons and true-life situations that made me chuckle out loud on more than one occasion. And while sometimes I find non-fiction books to be dry and boring and difficult to get into, I genuinely looked forward to reading another chapter. Yep, it was a page-turner!

I would say that if you are in the throes of early childhood and you find your relationship with your husband suffering from lack of tending, check this book out! I think it would also make a great baby shower present, particularly if you are close to the guest of honor. I don’t think this book could possibly have all the answers, but the mere fact that I remember it (and remember it so fondly!) an entire year later should tell you that it definitely was worth a read!

If you’d like to purchase this book, you can find it here at Amazon.com!

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