Amanda Brighthome Author:Danielle Crittenden With a college degree from an elite university, a top-level job at the N.E.A., a loving and successful husband, and two adorable children, Amanda Bright is ready to conquer the world. But when she decides to leave her career to be a stay-at-home mom, Amanda finds that her college degree, her professional wardrobe, and glamorous friends and conne... more »ctions are no preparation for her new life. Gone are the days of meetings and power lunches; Amanda's days are now filled with changing diapers, mopping up spills, and singing 'The Itsy, Bitsy Spider' over and over. While everyone else around her is on the fast track, it's getting harder for Amanda to even remember-or appreciate-why she left work in the first place. Mothers everywhere will laugh and cry along with Amanda as she experiences the daily trials of adjusting to this new life -and discovers that success isn't always measured in the workplace.« less
I really liked this book and I found that I could really relate to the main character. Her husband and her "friends" really annoyed the hell out of me and i don't know why she put up with the 'friends as long as she did. Her husband at least redeemed himself later on.
A funny book - a realsitic look at a mum trying to do it all - be a good mother at home and also hold her own in the working world. A lot any mother can identify with.
Working moms on two continents found a kindred spirit in Kate Reddy, frantic heroine of the megaselling I Don't Know How She Does It; stay-at-home moms may become similarly attached to Amanda Bright, the bedraggled, deeply ambivalent heroine of this witty debut by journalist and TV pundit Crittenden (What Our Mothers Didn't Tell Us). As she slogs through her day with five-year-old Ben (dangerously on the verge of flunking preschool) and three-year-old Sophie, Amanda, a former NEA publicist, soon stops deluding herself that she is "not a homemaker," just temporarily at home to care for her children. As husband Bob petulantly points out, it's not much of a home-cramped, chaotic, cluttered with doll body parts "as if it had been attacked by suicide bomber Ken." Play dates and cocktail parties at swank Beltway McMansions painfully remind Amanda of the folly of subsisting on Bob's government paycheck. Bob isn't even home much, thrilled to be leading the Justice Department's investigation of software giant Megabyte. Envious of Bob, alienated from her rich female friends, estranged from her disapproving feminist mother, Amanda turns to the one sympathetic soul in her life-Alan, a stay-at-home dad. Originally published as weekly installments in the Wall Street Journal, this breezily polemical tale is lively and sometimes poignant. Crittenden writes knowingly about Washington politics, but is just as astute describing the politics of play dates and private schools. At times she overplays the satire, surrounding her likable "domestic curator" with a supporting cast of self-promoting narcissists and cutthroat workaholics, none of them worthy of the heroine's ambivalence or her precious free time. Still, this is a fun read, perfect for poolside.