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Family: The Ties That Bind and Gag!
A cherished family reunion sets the stage of Erma Bombeck's predictably hilarious recollections of raising a family. Her you can't live with them, you can't live without them...or can you...?
199 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1987
52 people are currently reading
940 people want to read
About the author
Erma Bombeck
103 books538 followersErma Louise Bombeck, born Erma Fiste, was an American humorist who achieved great popularity for a newspaper column that depicted suburban home life humorously, in the second half of the 20th century.
For 31 years since 1965, Erma Bombeck published 4,000 newspaper articles. Already in the 1970s, her witty columns were read, twice weekly, by thirty million readers of 900 newspapers of USA and Canada. Besides, the majority of her 15 books became instant best sellers.
For 31 years since 1965, Erma Bombeck published 4,000 newspaper articles. Already in the 1970s, her witty columns were read, twice weekly, by thirty million readers of 900 newspapers of USA and Canada. Besides, the majority of her 15 books became instant best sellers.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 154 reviews
November 30, 2014
Although comical at times (mostly the 80s life references), I didn't find it nearly as funny as I know the author intended me to. I think it was the overall negative tone of the book maybe? Yes, our families drive us nuts at times, but I think you can write about them in a funny way and still be functional bunch that love each other. I'm curious to see what other people thought of it at our book club meeting.
October 21, 2021
Centered around the family coming home at Thanksgiving for the family Christmas portrait, Erma launches into memories and observations about all the quirks of family life from the early years until empty nesting.
Family- The Ties That Bind And Gag isn't always from the mother perspective and it was enlightening- and enlivening- to get the husband and three kids' point of view as well. There is love, but also an appreciation that loving each other doesn't mean being alike or even having insight and understanding.
I found it relatable even though I couldn't relate having grown up under somewhat different circumstances and having a very different adulthood than this put upon mom. I suppose that is the simple charm of her essays. That son bringing his pet snake home cracked me up every time the snake was brought up. All in all, it was entertaining to pick up now and then when I had a quick moment.
Family- The Ties That Bind And Gag isn't always from the mother perspective and it was enlightening- and enlivening- to get the husband and three kids' point of view as well. There is love, but also an appreciation that loving each other doesn't mean being alike or even having insight and understanding.
I found it relatable even though I couldn't relate having grown up under somewhat different circumstances and having a very different adulthood than this put upon mom. I suppose that is the simple charm of her essays. That son bringing his pet snake home cracked me up every time the snake was brought up. All in all, it was entertaining to pick up now and then when I had a quick moment.
January 6, 2019
I read this book because my mother gave it to me, in 1991. My only excuse for taking so long to read it is that I thought I had read it already, but nooo, my mother gave me two Erma Bombeck books. The earlier one was from when Erma was raising her young children.
This book was vaguely amusing at times. They are empty nesters when she writes this, and then one son decides to return home while he goes back to school. As an almost empty nester I could relate to some of her feelings and stories. So there is their reaction to that announcement, and their reaction to taking care of the pet snake, and their interactions with their three adult children and the memories they share. My feeling here was that she was trying too hard, the material was not actually very funny so she had to stretch, twist and bend it to make potentially funny to her readers; for the most part it didn't work, at least for me.
This book was vaguely amusing at times. They are empty nesters when she writes this, and then one son decides to return home while he goes back to school. As an almost empty nester I could relate to some of her feelings and stories. So there is their reaction to that announcement, and their reaction to taking care of the pet snake, and their interactions with their three adult children and the memories they share. My feeling here was that she was trying too hard, the material was not actually very funny so she had to stretch, twist and bend it to make potentially funny to her readers; for the most part it didn't work, at least for me.
May 4, 2021
This book may not be as hilarious as is mentioned on the cover, it is very funny indeed. Mot people with children will recognize some or even all of the situations described. Although not so funny when it happens to you personally it is certainly funny to read about it and realise that you are not alone in your ordeal. Erma Bombeck writes about everyday situations where real life does not match television make-belief. Embarrassing, downright filthy sometimes but always trying to do the best for the familiy and bring up the children "right". Never understanding why things that seem so simple for other people always turn out horribly worng when you try it. Is it you or are it your children (or spouse, parents, ...)? Never mind, in the end it is all the love that counts and makes it worhtwille, right???
April 9, 2017
Just like I remember Erma. It was like opening a time capsule from the 1980's. (I wonder what she'd have written about smart phones and social media?) But after a while I got tired of the family-bashing, even though that was the point of the book. Family is just too important.
April 11, 2021
The book connects, inspires & brings up the feeling of having been in the same shoes over and over again.
Taps into the everyday ordinary to serve up an extraordinary read .
Taps into the everyday ordinary to serve up an extraordinary read .
February 27, 2018
I remember Erma Bombeck from TV back in the 80s. She was funny. I was 'told' to read this book by an employee and started it thinking I wouldn't like it. It really caught me after the first 25 pages. It certainly had some funny lines and images. But what really caught me was how it brought so many memories of growing up, interacting with sibs and parents and being a parent myself. I had so much in common with her family it's a bit scary. We either had similar experiences or families are more alike than different.
February 12, 2018
Enjoyed this book. Read my full review at www. hlgibsonauthor.com
August 22, 2024
I loved reading her column as a teenager. She's still as funny as I remember.
December 2, 2018
Erma was a gem; a wonderful documentarian and satirist of American family life in the early second half of the last century. Without her and groundbreaking female stand-ups like Joan Rivers and Phyllis Diller, we wouldn't have a whole array of wise cracking, teasing TV sitcom moms, from Roseanne to Reba, from Cybil to Grace.
Obviously, given the nasty reviews some have written here, her biting humor about motherhood, being a wife, and running a household don't resonate with young folks today, and I think that's a shame; they seem to have lost the ability to enjoy the brand of wry, winking sarcasm that skewers both her loved ones and herself.
Her newspaper columns and previous books were reliably funny, and even with some very dated 1980s references (VCR cassettes and aerial antennas, anyone?), there are plenty of chuckles and snorts in this one. They probably could have tightened it up a bit before release--cutting about 20% of the essays would have made for more condensed laughs--but even though there are a few slow ones, very few are outright clunkers.
Counter to the accusations of not actually caring for her family that have been lobbed by some fellow reviewers here, there's also a palpable melancholy running through this collection. When talking about her now empty nest, or when observing the interactions between her adult kids when they make a full house again every holiday, Erma looks back wistfully on the times when she had a home full of sloppy, bickering, wonderful children. Two examples in particular that stood out to me:
"Friends are "annuals" that need seasonal nurturing to bear blossoms. Family is a "perennial" that comes up year after year, enduring the droughts of absence and neglect. There's a place in the garden for both of them," and
"I never realized as I dedicated my life to ring-around-the-collar that cleanliness is not next to godliness...children are."
Come on, tell me that sounds like a woman who doesn't love her family!
Obviously, given the nasty reviews some have written here, her biting humor about motherhood, being a wife, and running a household don't resonate with young folks today, and I think that's a shame; they seem to have lost the ability to enjoy the brand of wry, winking sarcasm that skewers both her loved ones and herself.
Her newspaper columns and previous books were reliably funny, and even with some very dated 1980s references (VCR cassettes and aerial antennas, anyone?), there are plenty of chuckles and snorts in this one. They probably could have tightened it up a bit before release--cutting about 20% of the essays would have made for more condensed laughs--but even though there are a few slow ones, very few are outright clunkers.
Counter to the accusations of not actually caring for her family that have been lobbed by some fellow reviewers here, there's also a palpable melancholy running through this collection. When talking about her now empty nest, or when observing the interactions between her adult kids when they make a full house again every holiday, Erma looks back wistfully on the times when she had a home full of sloppy, bickering, wonderful children. Two examples in particular that stood out to me:
"Friends are "annuals" that need seasonal nurturing to bear blossoms. Family is a "perennial" that comes up year after year, enduring the droughts of absence and neglect. There's a place in the garden for both of them," and
"I never realized as I dedicated my life to ring-around-the-collar that cleanliness is not next to godliness...children are."
Come on, tell me that sounds like a woman who doesn't love her family!
September 2, 2013
My god. For some reason, I have fond memories of this book from when I was in middle school, so I continued to slog through it now, more in a desperate attempt to understand my past self than out of any hope to find something of quality in this trashy collection.
This is a collection of rambling stream-of-consciousness writing for no greater humor than the title. No exaggeration, it reads as a string of mild gags that never builds to anything. The average standup is better tied together than any chapter of this book.
But the worst feature is the subject matter. She utilizes every tired stereotype about family life and gender roles, pushing them to a strange exhausted extreme where you wonder if she actually likes being a wife or mother. However, there's certainly nothing that could be considered pushing the envelope, as it's all in a veneer of sickly sweet sunday morning cartoons. The final product simply feels like a desperate help letter from someone as passed through Miss Manners.
Depressing and almost entirely unfunny, I found myself groanign and frustrated throughout.
This is a collection of rambling stream-of-consciousness writing for no greater humor than the title. No exaggeration, it reads as a string of mild gags that never builds to anything. The average standup is better tied together than any chapter of this book.
But the worst feature is the subject matter. She utilizes every tired stereotype about family life and gender roles, pushing them to a strange exhausted extreme where you wonder if she actually likes being a wife or mother. However, there's certainly nothing that could be considered pushing the envelope, as it's all in a veneer of sickly sweet sunday morning cartoons. The final product simply feels like a desperate help letter from someone as passed through Miss Manners.
Depressing and almost entirely unfunny, I found myself groanign and frustrated throughout.
March 24, 2013
I love Erma Bombeck. There are very few authors - (P.G Wodehouse and to an extent David Sedaris) who can make me laugh - she is one of them. I find myself chuckling and laughing out aloud over the way she describes her daily domestic dealings and interactions with her kids and family. Although some of the situations seem a bit dated (waiting for long distance calls) the humor is spot-on. In terms of plot, Erma's books are like talking to a pal - a series of incidents - all very credible if you have a mom, a family and kids. This book of course deals with a time when all the three Bombeck kids come home for a visit and one of them decides to make the visit a permanent one. The empty nest is suddenly a bit too full and Erma is at her acerbic yet quirky best.
December 6, 2014
I really tried to get through this one for the sake of the book group discussion. There were a few humorous parts and I remember thinking her newspaper column was funny. But this had just too much of her sarcastic, deprecating style of humor and it got very tiresome to me. I would have liked a little more of the sentimental stuff that reminded me that she really did like her kids and parenting really can be a great joy. It's also quite dated. I ended up skimming through the last half of the book.
July 16, 2014
Bombeck had a monthly column in Good Housekeeping that I always read growing up. Affection for her writing is deep in my psyche. Deep enough that even after I stopped reading the magazine I continued to read and enjoy her books.
So, I'd recommend this to adults looking for a taste of nostalgia, a light read, and for kids, who will be amused by the antics of family life.
Library copy
So, I'd recommend this to adults looking for a taste of nostalgia, a light read, and for kids, who will be amused by the antics of family life.
Library copy
May 30, 2009
Slightly funny at times, but mostly over my head in the sense that I am a young, newly married woman without any kids. Most of the jokes are directed at women with families, especially with grow children. Maybe twenty years from now if I have kids it will mean more to me.
February 1, 2008
This didn't seem to be as funny as some of her books - but it sure brought back memories of family things at times - and a smile with them. Not my favorite and a slow read.
September 17, 2013
Worst book I ever almost finished. Only book I've ever started and then stopped reading just because it was so terrible. FAIL.
December 16, 2009
Full disclosure: I didn't make it all the way to the end of this one.
August 25, 2014
When the family is driving you NUTS, read this book. Nothing fixes family insanity like a good laugh!
July 2, 2018
On dating:
"In 1955, 2,073,719 boy babies were born. Out of that number, 872,638 died in the war, in accidents or of natural causes, leaving 1,201,081...Since 10 percent get married and 5 percent get divorced, you can assume 15 percent of this total are marrying and divorcing one another, leaving 1,020,919. Homosexuals represent possibly 10 percent, bringing the eligibles down to 918,827. Of the little less than a million eligibles roaming around, 5 percent don't know their sign and don't even care. Another 5 percent are tied to their mothers by a food fixation. That leaves only 20 percent who are searching for a girl who will pick up their clothes, run their baths, burn her fingers shelling their three-minute eggs, run their errands, bear them a child every year, look like a fashion model, tend their needs when they are sick, and hold down a full-time job outside the home to make payments on their boat. Besides, Grandma has already been on my case. She said all I need is a nice personality and a sense of humor and they'll be standing in line at my frond door."
"Grandma...told me that too. I'm no dummy, When I was in school, I saw boys date girls with the personality of a leftover, but if she was stacked, she could get a date to take her to have her teeth cleaned."
"Personality and sense of humor got to be a joke...then it got to be a stigma...She has a great personality...or...He has a wonderful sense of humor."
On a man's chair:
"I learned the importance of a man's chair early in life. I learned that he may love several wives, embrace several cars, be true to more than one political philosophy, and be equally committed to several careers, but he will have only one comfortable chair in his life.
"I learned it will be an ugly chair.
"it will match nothing in the entire house.
"It will never wear out.
"From September through January during the football season it was his home."
"In 1955, 2,073,719 boy babies were born. Out of that number, 872,638 died in the war, in accidents or of natural causes, leaving 1,201,081...Since 10 percent get married and 5 percent get divorced, you can assume 15 percent of this total are marrying and divorcing one another, leaving 1,020,919. Homosexuals represent possibly 10 percent, bringing the eligibles down to 918,827. Of the little less than a million eligibles roaming around, 5 percent don't know their sign and don't even care. Another 5 percent are tied to their mothers by a food fixation. That leaves only 20 percent who are searching for a girl who will pick up their clothes, run their baths, burn her fingers shelling their three-minute eggs, run their errands, bear them a child every year, look like a fashion model, tend their needs when they are sick, and hold down a full-time job outside the home to make payments on their boat. Besides, Grandma has already been on my case. She said all I need is a nice personality and a sense of humor and they'll be standing in line at my frond door."
"Grandma...told me that too. I'm no dummy, When I was in school, I saw boys date girls with the personality of a leftover, but if she was stacked, she could get a date to take her to have her teeth cleaned."
"Personality and sense of humor got to be a joke...then it got to be a stigma...She has a great personality...or...He has a wonderful sense of humor."
On a man's chair:
"I learned the importance of a man's chair early in life. I learned that he may love several wives, embrace several cars, be true to more than one political philosophy, and be equally committed to several careers, but he will have only one comfortable chair in his life.
"I learned it will be an ugly chair.
"it will match nothing in the entire house.
"It will never wear out.
"From September through January during the football season it was his home."
July 8, 2020
I have laughed so hard reading this book. Then the tears came behind it knowing Erma is no longer with us and to have the pleasure to read her life is just so awing and heartfelt. I can say she is the same age as I am now when she wrote this book in 87 and my daughter was born in 88 I was 16, now in 2020 my daughter one child makes up all of Erma's 3 kids. What she describes as a mother through the years of her kids growing up is what my child did and still doing. I love the last chapter of the book which boils down to Family whether you want to sell them, they drive you crazy or they make you feel old you will always love them...Thank you Erma, Bill and Kids for a great laugh and a look at a not so perfect family but yet perfect in your own way. I hope you kids have found what your mom always wanted you to have... Happiness. Recommend to all families, friends and anyone needing a good look at real life.. Oh and laugher.. Praises to Kathryn Parise for the most awesome and cute cover ever.. Gina Clabo
April 30, 2025
Personal copy
I was a HUGE Bombeck fan back in the day, and when I saw a nice copy of this at the thrift store, it occurred to me that I had missed this one. Also, it is about where my life is right now, with grown children scattered but occasionally visiting. Once I started to read this, I realized it was something I had seen before, or at least part of it, since Bombeck's column was still published in the daily newspapers I read back in the 1980s.
Styles change. A lot of who I am, and my reaction to things, was formed by Bombeck's off handed snark. It's not a style that has aged well, but it was certainly enjoyable at the time. I think I appreciated most that Bombeck was never overly sentimental. Certainly "self care" and any serious mentions of mental health never came into her writing.
I was a HUGE Bombeck fan back in the day, and when I saw a nice copy of this at the thrift store, it occurred to me that I had missed this one. Also, it is about where my life is right now, with grown children scattered but occasionally visiting. Once I started to read this, I realized it was something I had seen before, or at least part of it, since Bombeck's column was still published in the daily newspapers I read back in the 1980s.
Styles change. A lot of who I am, and my reaction to things, was formed by Bombeck's off handed snark. It's not a style that has aged well, but it was certainly enjoyable at the time. I think I appreciated most that Bombeck was never overly sentimental. Certainly "self care" and any serious mentions of mental health never came into her writing.
May 14, 2025
THE MOST UNDERRATED AUTHOR OF ALL TIME! more people need to read her books. Found them in a whole in the wall secondhand bookstore in bandgalore on church street and have since bought almost all her books. Her commentary on the regularities and mundanely essence of life is so flawlessly accurate it makes you go back to the publishing date to remind yourself this woman’s existed in the fifties and wrote books like this. She’s the Julia Child of the writing world. I love her books !
Seriously Laugh Out Loud Funny !!! Like spit your coffee out through your nostrils hilarious! Like hold your belly and gasp for air coz you’re struggling to breathe coz you can’t stop laughing. Her wit is surely about her. Imagine laughing so hard from reading a book. That’s Erma Bombeck
Seriously Laugh Out Loud Funny !!! Like spit your coffee out through your nostrils hilarious! Like hold your belly and gasp for air coz you’re struggling to breathe coz you can’t stop laughing. Her wit is surely about her. Imagine laughing so hard from reading a book. That’s Erma Bombeck
April 20, 2018
I love Mrs. Bombeck's sense of humor and this book was everything I expected. She highlights a lot of truths with some slight (or maybe more than 'slight') exaggerations about family and society that only serve to drive home the point.
I think it's funny how many people consider her view on family overtly negative. I don't get that feeling from her writings at all. Her anecdotes are about the idiosyncrasies of raising a family, poking just as much fun at herself as at the people around her. To me, the message is clear: family can test your patience, drive you crazy, and turn your utility room into a snake pit, but thank God we have them.
I think it's funny how many people consider her view on family overtly negative. I don't get that feeling from her writings at all. Her anecdotes are about the idiosyncrasies of raising a family, poking just as much fun at herself as at the people around her. To me, the message is clear: family can test your patience, drive you crazy, and turn your utility room into a snake pit, but thank God we have them.
November 13, 2024
Had to force myself to finish this one. It’s sad, because I bought it to have something light and laugh out loud funny to read for a change. And I remember reading “If Life is a Bowl of Cherries, then what am I Doing in the Pits?” and finding it hilarious! Of course, that was 30 years ago, but I figured if I loved her writing as a teen, I’d appreciate it much more as an adult! Not the case. This one was just over the top exaggerated- one line more than the next- that it took away much of the humor, though there were some funny parts of the book. She was just trying way too hard with this one.
April 11, 2025
This book will make you laugh! It is so relatable! Who hasn’t thought, wondered or said such things! I picked this paperback up at a yard sale for 25¢…and it has taken me almost a year to read, as I read many other books..this book is a snack book..like the little piece of good chocolate that is always waiting and you only need a little bite of! A snack here and there as you keep coming back to it and let it rest while reading something else…I am going back to that woman for another of Erma’s books! Borrowing from a library would make it too much of a rushed read!
Get yourself an Erma Bombeck Book..or even a Peg Bracken and enjoy it while reading others!!
Get yourself an Erma Bombeck Book..or even a Peg Bracken and enjoy it while reading others!!
November 20, 2017
I remember having seen some of Bombeck's performances on television, and had read some of her columns as a kid. She's wry, witty and sentimental, and fairly well-mannered and vanilla in her delivery.
I enjoyed the book, but it didn't make me laugh out loud. Perhaps it suffered somewhat by comparison to the Dave Barry I'd read just before picking this one up. I would recommend it mostly to mothers and folks who feel somewhat underappreciated by their families. Folks outside the target audience would probably not relate very closely.
I enjoyed the book, but it didn't make me laugh out loud. Perhaps it suffered somewhat by comparison to the Dave Barry I'd read just before picking this one up. I would recommend it mostly to mothers and folks who feel somewhat underappreciated by their families. Folks outside the target audience would probably not relate very closely.
December 2, 2017
Humorist Erma Bombeck, who died more than 20 years ago, writes about family — all families through the lens of her family. At the time of her writing, none of her three grown children were married and one was moving back home as she and her husband were contemplating empty-nest syndrome. Though some of the observations in the now 30-year-old book seem dated with newer technology and the machinations of a newer generation now the age of her children then, many of the chapters nevertheless have nuggets about the worth — despite the hassles — of raising a family.
March 28, 2021
I have always wanted to read Erma. She is now a bit dated with her antics of the suburban housewife and mother, however I still got quite a few crack ups on her written sarcastic words in this book.
I did feel that it also came off as a bit of too much negative on the family relationships, but I know she does this for comedy purposes. But, towards the end, I did get tired of the sarcasm and made it a bit too long of a book for me on that.
I did feel that it also came off as a bit of too much negative on the family relationships, but I know she does this for comedy purposes. But, towards the end, I did get tired of the sarcasm and made it a bit too long of a book for me on that.
June 15, 2020
I have a deep fondness for Erma Bombeck. Her books were in my parents homes as I grew up and she’s a local celebrity. She’s from Dayton Ohio and i live near Dayton.
This was like a time capsule of my teen years so I enjoyed the 80’s references. I didn’t particularly enjoy the nastiness speaking about family, even though I could relate to all of it.
Super quick read.
This was like a time capsule of my teen years so I enjoyed the 80’s references. I didn’t particularly enjoy the nastiness speaking about family, even though I could relate to all of it.
Super quick read.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 154 reviews