Mortified: a novel about oversharing

by Meredith O'Brien

In the age of blogs and omnipresent social media, where is the line between laudable, cathartic honesty and oversharing?

Maggie Kelly started her personal blog for one reason: to prevent her head from exploding with frustration. She is, frankly, tired of at-home motherhood and weary of her husband's frequent absences due to his workaholic ways. She feels like a hostage to marriage and maternity. So when a friend suggests that she create an anonymous blog where she can complain to her heart's content and not have to hold anything back, "Maggie Has Had It" was born.

After her controversial, raw and profane blog posts draw thousands of online readers, Maggie's blogging identity is inadvertently revealed. Her husband is horrified to learn that she has written, in great detail, about his shortcomings, mortifyingly, between the sheets. To make matters worse, it is his mother who tells him about his online humiliation.

Mortification in 21st century fashion: via Google.

Genres: Fiction

284 pages, Paperback

First published May 6, 2013

About the author

A former newspaper reporter and investigative journalist, Meredith O'Brien has written four books in a variety of genres.

A Boston area writer, she has two books slated for publication in 2025. Louie on the Rocks is a novel about the impact of Trump era political polarization on a family, and Uncomfortably Numb 2 is a guide for newly-diagnosed multiple sclerosis patients.

She's currently working on a work of creative nonfiction about the making of a Millennial Massachusetts minister.

In 2020, her medical memoir, "Uncomfortably Numb," chronicled the impact her diagnosis of multiple sclerosis has had on her life.

Her book -- "Mr. Clark's Big Band: A Year of Laughter, Tears and Jazz in a Middle School Band Room" -- won an Independent Book Publisher Award (Education category) and was a finalist for a Forewords INDIES Award (Education category). It follows a middle school jazz band from a small Massachusetts town that's led by a charismatic music director whose students are grieving the sudden loss of a band mate.

"Mortified: a novel about oversharing" follows a fictional mommy blogger who suffers the consequences after revealing too much personal information on the internet. It was a finalist for a Foreword Firsts Debut Novel contest.

Her first solo book was "A Suburban Mom: Notes from the Asylum," a collection of humor/parenting columns about raising her boy-girl twins and their younger brother.

Reviews

[Rachel Bertrand · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gripping and certainly relevant in our ever-more tech-driven world. Well written but could’ve been better edited.

[Abbey O'Brien]

Mortified was a darker book than I usually read but I still enjoyed it. The whole inner conflict the main character, Maggie, faces seems very relatable to many parents struggling to adjust to their lives with kids. Personally, I find it harder to relate since I am not a parent but I found it very realistic. I enjoyed how despite the heavy plot, the author was still able to put a comedic twist on things and lighten the tone so it wasn’t as depressing.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

This this day in age of total oversharring this book make a funny yet much needed point. There are somethings that really do not need to be shared. As a stay at home mother I completely related to how the main character Maggie Kelly felt. A funny, totally beliveablly acurate life of a fed-up stay at home mom when her blog goes viral.

[Stacie · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable and funny read that I couldn't put down, at times. The main character was someone I alternately liked and detested. Sometimes I laughed out loud at her antics, and at other times I hoped she would get caught. Unfortunately, the ending absolutely SUCKED.

[Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

O'Brien's zeitgesity cautionary tale is a quick and entertaining read. Even if you've never read or written a blog entry before, her observations of modern motherhood and marriage will strike a chord.