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Rockabye: From Wild to Child
Rockabye is the lively memoir of a spontaneous young city-girl who becomes unexpectedly pregnant. That city-girl is Rebecca Woolf, who at 23, after the "holy shit, I'm pregnant" realization, decides to keep the baby, marry the boyfriend (in Vegas no less), and figure out how to wed her rock n' roll lifestyle and impending motherhood. With humor, honesty, and renegade insight, Rebecca makes the transition from life as an odd-job doing commitment-phobic, chain-smoking, irresponsible party-girl to life as a work-at-home mother with a different kind of social life. Throughout, Rebecca doesn't relinquish the token qualities of her free-spirited, pre-baby self; rebelling against both the "soccer mom," and "young mother" stereotypes, challenging herself to grow up without outgrowing her dreams, and most importantly embracing motherhood without a map. Rockabye explores the coming together of mother and son and their mutual coming of age. How does Rebecca adapt to motherhood? By acting on instinct and maintaining a strong sense of self, breaking rules (sometimes her own) in the process and building her own adventures out of legos and alphabet blocks.
283 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2008
7 people are currently reading
628 people want to read
About the author
Rebecca Woolf
2 books146 followersRebecca Woolf authors the popular parenting blogs, http://girlsgonechild.blogspot.com and http://Babble.com’s Straight From the Bottle. Her first book, Rockabye: A Young Mom's Journey From Wild to Child was released April, 2008. She is currently at work on a novel, screenplay and a human child due in October.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 90 reviews
April 14, 2008
When I bought Rebecca Woolf's "Rockabye: From Wild to Child", I was sold a misleading bill of goods. Like Neal Pollack's "Alternadad", Woolf's memoir was marketed as the story of a party-all-nighter's quest to transition to parenthood without losing her innate coolness. And like Pollack's memoir, "Rockabye" turned out to be so much more. It's a heartfelt exploration of a new parent's discovery of her heart and soul, awakened by the birth of her child, and how, in finding her own way to be that son's very best parent, she finds her true self. Woolf writes with unblinking honesty and a stunning gift for language. I've never been so happy to find that a book I'm reading is not the book I thought it was going to be.
October 11, 2011
In this fumbling, fish-out-of-water memoir, Rebecca Woolf, a self-proclaimed "party girl" leading a "rock and roll lifestyle" finds herself shockingly! pregnant! with her boyfriend of only a few months at the actually-not-that-young age of 23. I read Rebecca's blog and I like it, mostly, so I disregarded my previous experiences (wherein I dislike books written by bloggers very nearly 100% of the time) and picked it up. This book is really earnest and some people might relate strongly to it. I mean, I can see that. I just didn't.
The author's voice in this book is so self-centered, self-righteous, lost and misdirected. I threw the book down several times to complain about it. Yes, she's young and going through this major unplanned life change. She never went to college and she has really struggled with being a thin, beautiful girl with moneyed, supportive parents in Los Angeles for her entire life, but I wanted the transformation to have some grace and self-awareness. Her Writerly Writing is peppered with flowery Insightful Insights & Indignation and her desire for Uniqueness and Independence. It didn't seem that different from live journals I read ten years ago. That style is perfectly adequate for an online diary, but I'd hoped for a higher level of writing if someone is going to bother publishing it on paper. She is such a special, unique snowflake. I know that is a material fact because she told me eleventy hundred times in <300 pages.
So, in a nutshell, I did not enjoy this book. The material and voice that make captivating bloggers does not always (or even often) translate well to a full-length book, especially once you remove all the adorable photos of babies that make writerly rambling seem poignant. I wish I could be more generous and compassionate toward this book, recognizing that the author was quite young and had a limited world view, but I found it impossible to drill a well of patience that deep in my dark, cold, feminist heart.
The author's voice in this book is so self-centered, self-righteous, lost and misdirected. I threw the book down several times to complain about it. Yes, she's young and going through this major unplanned life change. She never went to college and she has really struggled with being a thin, beautiful girl with moneyed, supportive parents in Los Angeles for her entire life, but I wanted the transformation to have some grace and self-awareness. Her Writerly Writing is peppered with flowery Insightful Insights & Indignation and her desire for Uniqueness and Independence. It didn't seem that different from live journals I read ten years ago. That style is perfectly adequate for an online diary, but I'd hoped for a higher level of writing if someone is going to bother publishing it on paper. She is such a special, unique snowflake. I know that is a material fact because she told me eleventy hundred times in <300 pages.
So, in a nutshell, I did not enjoy this book. The material and voice that make captivating bloggers does not always (or even often) translate well to a full-length book, especially once you remove all the adorable photos of babies that make writerly rambling seem poignant. I wish I could be more generous and compassionate toward this book, recognizing that the author was quite young and had a limited world view, but I found it impossible to drill a well of patience that deep in my dark, cold, feminist heart.
April 21, 2008
How can I adequately describe this original, talented writer, or her impressive first memoir? The only possible comparison is that Rebecca Woolf is the Chrissie Hynde of narrative nonfiction. (And no woman--to date--plays the guitar better or loves her child as much as Chrissie does. Remember the songs, "My Baby" or "Show Me"??) Woolf wields a mighty pen, and I suspect that she will be a force to contend with in the future, having a long and fruitful career as a writer. I mean, HOLYSHIT, this is her first book! In this memoir, Woolf struggles with and ultimately concludes that a woman can raise a child without losing the best parts, the core of her identity. (Woolf is one of several new generation parenting memoirs on the market, thank god!) Woolf’s memoir is ferociously honest, funny, and touching. She brings the reader right up to the dangerous edge of realism and voyeurism, romanticism and raw sexuality. And her social critiques are right on-target, especially how fear-mongering by parents destroys children’s creativity. I look forward to the second book.
April 30, 2008
If you were the type of person to judge a book by it's cover (as I often do), you would at first glance think this book is about a wild young woman who becomes a mother. It is. But it's so much more. It's not just for young mothers (expected or unexpected)--it's for older mothers, for never-been mothers, for fathers, for architects, for lawyers, for fast food workers, for ANYONE. Rebecca Woolf's writing lures you in immediately and doesn't cease the whole way through. She's honest, sometimes brutally so. She shows you her fears, her insecurities, and her triumphs. This is one of the few books that I've ever read that made me cry. And made me laugh. And when I finished it, I immediately started reading it again. She's a great mother. And a great writer.
June 1, 2008
This is not just another memoir of motherhood. Rebecca Woolf is an amazing writer who weaves her story of unexpected motherhood with a journey of self-discovery and reflection. What makes us the mothers and the women we are? Rebecca's book is powerful and genuine and you must not miss this one!
April 14, 2008
If you are a mom, or just a girl that might someday want to be a mom.. or just a girl having the time of her life in her 20s.. you'll want to read Becca's memoir. Truly, you'll feel like you know her with the way this book is so easy to read. It is both comical in the way she says things that everyone thinks but never says.. as much as it is emotionally heart-wrenching in the way you can feel her embarassment, pain, and joy through her candid writing.
April 12, 2008
Wow. I am the first to write a review of this book on goodreads.com, really?
I have been a loyal reader of Rebecca Woolf's since back in the days of the Pointy Toe Shoe Factory. This has been a journey that many of us have been riding in the Rebecca's VW carseat on the information superhighway for many years.
I think that there are a lot of us who have followed along through the emotional last few years of her life feeling a bit voyeuristic. Other times I have felt like a passenger, a welcome one, as the dialogue she opens in her blog becomes so much about the reader, not the author.
Blogging about your life is so intimate for both the writer and the reader. It is impossible to not grow attached in this one way relationship. It is very similar for a memoir to feel this way.
I loved this book. So many moments of tears and laughter. Rebecca has an easy voice that is so welcoming. It reads very similarly to her blogs. Those blogs that have kept me checking in on regular day to day basis.
Some friends and I, who are loyal to Woolf’s blogs, were worried that it would be too familiar; or worse, just verbatim from the blogosphere. I was relieved to say that isn’t so.
For example, coming across the chapter "Things that are relative," It was from a completely different vantage point than when I first read about this time in her life. After reading the chapter, not in tears, but with a wide smile. I was taken back to the night when I sat alone in my office and read about Rebecca's Uncle Pete for the first time. It was dark. Everyone had gone home for the day. I sat there with tears streaming down my face and the blue light from my screen glistening on my face. It gradually grew to full on sobbing. Rebecca posted that in the www, I guess for relief, to get it out, to express those feelings in a tangible way, to share with strangers something so difficult and raw. I was sobbing first for her, but then for my own father, and my mother's father, who were both gone from our lives too soon. I hadn't cried, or frankly, thought about either in a long time. I needed the invitation, from someone I trusted.
That night, her blogs, and especially this memoir, Rockabye, are all examples of how Rebecca has created a dialogue with her readers, that isn't just about her life. As memoirs go, that is truly unique.
A memoir that is less about the writer and more about all of us??? That’s so… socialist? I don’t know, maybe not, but I love this community that she has created by just having the balls to share.
I was swollen with pride when I got my copy from Amazon. I think many of us have grown from the ride in the passenger seat, with Rebecca behind the wheel. At least I have. Thanks, Bec.
I have been a loyal reader of Rebecca Woolf's since back in the days of the Pointy Toe Shoe Factory. This has been a journey that many of us have been riding in the Rebecca's VW carseat on the information superhighway for many years.
I think that there are a lot of us who have followed along through the emotional last few years of her life feeling a bit voyeuristic. Other times I have felt like a passenger, a welcome one, as the dialogue she opens in her blog becomes so much about the reader, not the author.
Blogging about your life is so intimate for both the writer and the reader. It is impossible to not grow attached in this one way relationship. It is very similar for a memoir to feel this way.
I loved this book. So many moments of tears and laughter. Rebecca has an easy voice that is so welcoming. It reads very similarly to her blogs. Those blogs that have kept me checking in on regular day to day basis.
Some friends and I, who are loyal to Woolf’s blogs, were worried that it would be too familiar; or worse, just verbatim from the blogosphere. I was relieved to say that isn’t so.
For example, coming across the chapter "Things that are relative," It was from a completely different vantage point than when I first read about this time in her life. After reading the chapter, not in tears, but with a wide smile. I was taken back to the night when I sat alone in my office and read about Rebecca's Uncle Pete for the first time. It was dark. Everyone had gone home for the day. I sat there with tears streaming down my face and the blue light from my screen glistening on my face. It gradually grew to full on sobbing. Rebecca posted that in the www, I guess for relief, to get it out, to express those feelings in a tangible way, to share with strangers something so difficult and raw. I was sobbing first for her, but then for my own father, and my mother's father, who were both gone from our lives too soon. I hadn't cried, or frankly, thought about either in a long time. I needed the invitation, from someone I trusted.
That night, her blogs, and especially this memoir, Rockabye, are all examples of how Rebecca has created a dialogue with her readers, that isn't just about her life. As memoirs go, that is truly unique.
A memoir that is less about the writer and more about all of us??? That’s so… socialist? I don’t know, maybe not, but I love this community that she has created by just having the balls to share.
I was swollen with pride when I got my copy from Amazon. I think many of us have grown from the ride in the passenger seat, with Rebecca behind the wheel. At least I have. Thanks, Bec.
December 3, 2008
Interesting, blog-like dispatch from the front lines of accidental young motherhood. As the former mother of a tiny wunderkind, I can safely say that the landscape looks much as I remember it. Suffers a bit, I think, from the author's belief in her terminal uniqueness. Yes, yes, we get it, you are not a suburban soccer mom and your child is special. I may be too old and cranky to read mommy memoirs, or perhaps having a surly adolescent makes looking backwards too much at the moment. Either way, I found myself rolling my eyes as often as I nodded my head. Recommended for young mothers with more tattoos than I have.
June 24, 2008
if i had to choose a moment from this book that i think sums up how incredibly underwhelmed i was by both its message and her writing style, i'd say it was the chapter where she repeats her grandmother's godawful advice, "let the baby adapt to you," over and over again like a mantra.
also: we get it. you want your vagina to remain tight after giving birth. you can say that once. you don't need to bring it up every twenty pages or so like a nauseating leitmotif.
also: we get it. you want your vagina to remain tight after giving birth. you can say that once. you don't need to bring it up every twenty pages or so like a nauseating leitmotif.
April 24, 2008
I read the author's blog and was excited to read the book. I needed a break from the "heavy" (ahem, somewhat boring) reading I've been doing and this was just the thing! I haven't finished a book so quickly in...I don't know how long! I had to force myself to put it down and go to sleep (I read at bedtime) and still managed to finish it in near-record time. It's a great memoir of a young mother, struggling with identity and motherhood. While I couldn't relate to the unplanned aspect of the pregnancy, I could certainly appreciate her feelings during and once the baby was born. It's a huge change and she captured the feelings well. Some points were spot-on experiences of mine and I got a little emotional (as I am apt to do these days). She's on a book tour in Cali (she's from LA) right now and I wish I could go see her! I look forward to seeing what my son is like when he's at her son's age...
April 28, 2008
An amazing recollection of an unplanned pregnancy. Rebecca tells her story with Technicolor description and takes you along for the ups and downs of pregnancy, parenthood and marriage. Her honesty is raw and vivid. A should read for anyone who has been faced with an unexpected pregnancy and ended up with an unexpected life.
Want to read
January 23, 2008REALLY looking forward to this one....
February 9, 2011
I had a love/hate relationship with this book. Most of it I really liked, but Rebecca is kind of a walking contradiction. She is trying to defy stereotypes, but then cares about what people will think if she is caught wearing boot cut jeans instead of skinny jeans. She is trying so hard to be different, but I got the impression that she is a lot like every other person in LA, that she was trying to defy. I also didn't like how she kept calling her son "perfect". Perfection is an illusion, and telling your child that they are perfect does not seem like a productive thing to do. I don't want someone telling me that I'm perfect because I will know they are lying to my face. Perfection seems like a cruel and unreasonable expectation for children. They will never attain it, and they shouldn't! Perfect is boring. I don't want my kids to be perfect. I want them to be real. Perfection isn't reality.
Besides that, I liked the message of the book. I agree with her, in which women can be mothers, interesting, passionate, and different. I agree that not having a life other than your children, is detrimental to them. If children are born knowing that mom revolves her entire life around them, then they will think the world is like that too. It's important for kids to see that their parents are people, with passions and interests. Not just care givers and meal makers and personal assistants to their children.
Besides that, I liked the message of the book. I agree with her, in which women can be mothers, interesting, passionate, and different. I agree that not having a life other than your children, is detrimental to them. If children are born knowing that mom revolves her entire life around them, then they will think the world is like that too. It's important for kids to see that their parents are people, with passions and interests. Not just care givers and meal makers and personal assistants to their children.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 19, 2011
I stayed up until 1:00 in the morning reading the first half of this book. I love it. She makes unplanned motherhood at age 23 sound like exactly the right way to have a baby. Early in her pregnancy she finds she is neither fish nor fowl: no longer able or interested in partying with her free-spirited friends, nothing in common with the new moms ten-plus years her senior.
I envy her. Because she has no natural clique that she feels any need to conform to, she does pregnancy, birth and new motherhood her way. She reads through a few how-to books but chucks them with a youthful self-confidence and the determination to manage on instincts alone.
She's a good writer. The book is less memoir more diary, but it flows quite beautifully. She writes in a very unselfconscious way. All of it--most notably her writing style and her attitude--is refreshing. But what ultimately makes the book special is that she has some profound things to say about motherhood, female sexuality, and modern life. The way the baby transforms her is moving; the way she is able to articulate it is impressive.
It was worth every minute of lost sleep.
I envy her. Because she has no natural clique that she feels any need to conform to, she does pregnancy, birth and new motherhood her way. She reads through a few how-to books but chucks them with a youthful self-confidence and the determination to manage on instincts alone.
She's a good writer. The book is less memoir more diary, but it flows quite beautifully. She writes in a very unselfconscious way. All of it--most notably her writing style and her attitude--is refreshing. But what ultimately makes the book special is that she has some profound things to say about motherhood, female sexuality, and modern life. The way the baby transforms her is moving; the way she is able to articulate it is impressive.
It was worth every minute of lost sleep.
June 4, 2009
I enjoyed this book quite a bit. It's very quick and easy read and I definitely didn't want to put it down. It's a memoir about a 23-yr old party girl who finds herself pregnant. She marries the father and has the child. Basically shows her transformation to motherhood in a pretty poignant way. I really liked that she refused to give up certain elements of her 'wild' life (like going out to hear live music). Of course she quite smoking and partying, but she wasn't willing to give up her entire identity. I also really enjoyed her descriptions of how motherhood changed her and the feelings she had for her son. She's definitely a great writer, although obviously, I don't share a lot of her lifestyle choices. Been enjoying her blog quite a bit too.
April 20, 2008
I am addicted to the Girl's Gone Child blog. Not only does she have one of the cutest kids ever, Rebecca Woolf writes with a passion and a clarity of thought on a number of issues related to parenting, motherhood, sexuality, and life itself. Her book was good, but left me wanting more. While I don't agree on everything she has to say re: parenting, nor do I relate to all of her issues (she is ten years younger than me and many of her preoccupations are of a twenty-something woman, not that there's anything wrong with that), I cannot wait to hear what she has to say. Here's to more memoirs and books in general (not to mention blog posts) from Ms. Woolf.
March 14, 2013
I'm a fan of Rebecca Woolf's blog. She's a interesting person and talented writer and I really enjoyed reading her book. It's a treat knowing that I get to keep following her story after finishing her book. She's got a gift for description and at times her honesty brought tears to my eyes.
August 22, 2018
She had me until the end when she started acting like not teaching her son to communicate was some awesome act of rebellion. The last part of the book she says "I'm a badass" in her words, but the tone is defensive, lecturing and annoying. I'm so disappointed it ended this way because it ruined the whole book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 8, 2023
3.5 stars, rounded up. Rockabilly is a lyrical and lovely memoir about a young family's forst few years through the eyes of mom and writer Rebecca Woolf. Her writing is graceful and evocative, even if her experiences are not extraordinary, and I enjoyed the book.
May 22, 2025
I can so relate. Raw and exciting.
August 16, 2012
i really did not care for this book, & i really wish i would have written up my review of it back when i first read it. because i have read like 75 books since this one & the details of exactly why i hated it have gone missing. but i will say that i was really excited to read this book. it was on display at my local library for mother's day, i had just found out i was pregnant, &, you know, i'm all anarchist-y & tattooed & punk rock. i have read A LOT of mommy memoirs (apparently it is my unconscious goal in life to read all of them) & sometimes it's hard for me to relate to another memoir by a married 36-year-old who finally decides it's time to knuckle down & have a baby since here career is going so great & she wheels her bugaboo around brooklyn or paris & & talks about hos disgusting breastfeding is. so i really hoped that this would be a mommy memoir that spoke more to where i am coming from as an unmarried, broke, tattooed weirdo.
no such luck! i don't know rebecca woolf, obvs, but her memoir makes her seem like kind of a terrible person. there's SO MUCH stuff in this book about how being pregnant & recently post-partum really fucked with her head because she wasn't skinny & sexy anymore, & being skinny & sexy is a huge part of her feminine identity. i know a lot of women feel that way, but i never have. & now that i am about halfway through my pregnancy, i have to say, i have never felt better about my body. i've never had too many body issues to begin with, but with my big ol' baby belly, & the fact that i can buy clothes specifically designed to treat said belly as a utilitarian apparatus designed to hold the clothes up (maternity jeans, i love you), i am feeling particularly gorgeous. what need have i to compete with the skinny minnie fashionistas of the world when i have a wonderful little baby cooking away inside me? i never like reading memoirs that spill a lot of ink on the author's body image problems, but the fact that this particular author managed to bring so much girl-girl competition & so little self-awareness to the table especially turned me off.
she also goes on & on & on about how much she loves sex & how tough it was for her post-partum to find time for hanky panky with her boyfriend & how she didn't expect the baby to disrupt her sexual exploits so much, blah blah blah. sorry, i just don't enjoy reading about people a) being fucking stupid--of course a baby disrupts your life, what'd you think? & b) trying to portray themselves as some kind of a sex goddess. annie sprinkle can only just barely get away with it & she's an actual porn star. if you're just a really un-self-aware 23-year-old living in los angeles & being financially supported by your wealthy orange county parents while you play house with your subcultural boyfriend, i especially am not interested.
rebecca also spent shitloads of time writing about what a great writer she is. this is never advised because it only encourages your readers to pay extra attention to the wuality of your writing. i really wasn't expecting luscious prose from a 23-year-old mom, you know? i was willing to give her a pass on the pulitzer-caliber sentence construction & just enjoy the story. but since she was pretty much begging me to judge her writing, i have some adjectives: forced, purple, florid, embarrassing, occasionally unreadable, eyeroll-inducing...
if you have been hankering for a completely humorless, self-involved mommy memoir written by an over-privileged rockabilly chick who basically just published her diary, then RUN, don't walk to your nearest library & check this out. otherwise, give it a pass.
no such luck! i don't know rebecca woolf, obvs, but her memoir makes her seem like kind of a terrible person. there's SO MUCH stuff in this book about how being pregnant & recently post-partum really fucked with her head because she wasn't skinny & sexy anymore, & being skinny & sexy is a huge part of her feminine identity. i know a lot of women feel that way, but i never have. & now that i am about halfway through my pregnancy, i have to say, i have never felt better about my body. i've never had too many body issues to begin with, but with my big ol' baby belly, & the fact that i can buy clothes specifically designed to treat said belly as a utilitarian apparatus designed to hold the clothes up (maternity jeans, i love you), i am feeling particularly gorgeous. what need have i to compete with the skinny minnie fashionistas of the world when i have a wonderful little baby cooking away inside me? i never like reading memoirs that spill a lot of ink on the author's body image problems, but the fact that this particular author managed to bring so much girl-girl competition & so little self-awareness to the table especially turned me off.
she also goes on & on & on about how much she loves sex & how tough it was for her post-partum to find time for hanky panky with her boyfriend & how she didn't expect the baby to disrupt her sexual exploits so much, blah blah blah. sorry, i just don't enjoy reading about people a) being fucking stupid--of course a baby disrupts your life, what'd you think? & b) trying to portray themselves as some kind of a sex goddess. annie sprinkle can only just barely get away with it & she's an actual porn star. if you're just a really un-self-aware 23-year-old living in los angeles & being financially supported by your wealthy orange county parents while you play house with your subcultural boyfriend, i especially am not interested.
rebecca also spent shitloads of time writing about what a great writer she is. this is never advised because it only encourages your readers to pay extra attention to the wuality of your writing. i really wasn't expecting luscious prose from a 23-year-old mom, you know? i was willing to give her a pass on the pulitzer-caliber sentence construction & just enjoy the story. but since she was pretty much begging me to judge her writing, i have some adjectives: forced, purple, florid, embarrassing, occasionally unreadable, eyeroll-inducing...
if you have been hankering for a completely humorless, self-involved mommy memoir written by an over-privileged rockabilly chick who basically just published her diary, then RUN, don't walk to your nearest library & check this out. otherwise, give it a pass.
April 19, 2013
Can I give this 3 1/2 stars?
This memoir is funny and true with just enough bite to keep it lively. I've followed Rebecca Woolf on various blogs and Twitter, and of all the mommy bloggers out there, she is probably the most sane and likable. And with her Zooey Deschanel hair, fun artistic streak, and indie spirit, you know she's cooler than me, you, and everyone we know.
Her story is a good one--as a 23-year-old Hollywood wild child, she finds herself pregnant. And she does what any 23-year-old Hollywood Wild Child would do -- she marries the babydaddy has enters the MommyHood! No? Well, her decision to take the road less-traveled marks the beginning of her journey from being this carefree indie chick to being a responsible, grown-ass adult.
She manages to do okay. Better than a lot of people who aren't making a 180 in their lifestyles. And she does nail a lot of the issues new moms face, from the seismic changes that happen in a relationship to the need to have other friends with kids.
So here's where the story starts to sink. I get that Ms. Woolf was 23, and with that age comes a swagger that most of her middle-aged mommy counterparts have moved past (or have gotten beaten out of them in their late 20s/early 30s). But there's a superiority complex that's off-putting. She definitely hammers it home that she's not June Cleaver. But come on, who is? It did feel a little strange to encounter her nonchalance, if not full-on disdain, for other moms when that's her core audience. I felt like if we were to meet, I'd like her, but she'd be way too cool for me, and I'm not sure that's how you want your readers to feel when they're supposed to be rooting for you.
But like I said--this was 8-9 years ago, and since then, she's had 3 more kids and has gained a ton of life experience. I'm not a huge blog follower, so I'd like to read a book she's written recently and see if all this growing up has allowed her to connect with her readers--or at least this one--a little more.
This memoir is funny and true with just enough bite to keep it lively. I've followed Rebecca Woolf on various blogs and Twitter, and of all the mommy bloggers out there, she is probably the most sane and likable. And with her Zooey Deschanel hair, fun artistic streak, and indie spirit, you know she's cooler than me, you, and everyone we know.
Her story is a good one--as a 23-year-old Hollywood wild child, she finds herself pregnant. And she does what any 23-year-old Hollywood Wild Child would do -- she marries the babydaddy has enters the MommyHood! No? Well, her decision to take the road less-traveled marks the beginning of her journey from being this carefree indie chick to being a responsible, grown-ass adult.
She manages to do okay. Better than a lot of people who aren't making a 180 in their lifestyles. And she does nail a lot of the issues new moms face, from the seismic changes that happen in a relationship to the need to have other friends with kids.
So here's where the story starts to sink. I get that Ms. Woolf was 23, and with that age comes a swagger that most of her middle-aged mommy counterparts have moved past (or have gotten beaten out of them in their late 20s/early 30s). But there's a superiority complex that's off-putting. She definitely hammers it home that she's not June Cleaver. But come on, who is? It did feel a little strange to encounter her nonchalance, if not full-on disdain, for other moms when that's her core audience. I felt like if we were to meet, I'd like her, but she'd be way too cool for me, and I'm not sure that's how you want your readers to feel when they're supposed to be rooting for you.
But like I said--this was 8-9 years ago, and since then, she's had 3 more kids and has gained a ton of life experience. I'm not a huge blog follower, so I'd like to read a book she's written recently and see if all this growing up has allowed her to connect with her readers--or at least this one--a little more.
May 27, 2008
I'm about half way through so my three stars may not be accurate. I really enjoy the writing, but it isn't quite what I expected. It seems that the main character made the transition from wild to child pretty easily. There isn't TOO much about it being hard to be pregnant. It is mostly positive. As a person who suffered severe postpartum, I was interested in reading more of how to deal with the hard stuff. I don't fault her for having a wonderful experience and some of the passages totally hit home (like the letter to the girl who is unexpectedly pregnant), but I guess I was just hoping to read more about someone who didn't instantly fall in love with her baby and someone who didn't constantly say "this is worth it".
That said, it is an enjoyable book and a fairly easy read.
05/27
So I finished reading it. there are some really good things in this book. It was a very human narration from a mom. I can't help but enjoy the narrator, even if I don't agree with everything. I especially enjoyed how she drove home the point that once you have a baby, you are almost spit in two. There is the old you and the new you. THe mom and the non-mom. You can't let the non part of you fade away too far....
That said, it is an enjoyable book and a fairly easy read.
05/27
So I finished reading it. there are some really good things in this book. It was a very human narration from a mom. I can't help but enjoy the narrator, even if I don't agree with everything. I especially enjoyed how she drove home the point that once you have a baby, you are almost spit in two. There is the old you and the new you. THe mom and the non-mom. You can't let the non part of you fade away too far....
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December 22, 2008"Embracing my unplanned motherhood" seems to be a new mini-genre in parenting memoirs.
I enjoyed reading about Woolf becoming a family with her new husband and newborn son, both unexpected. It was nice to read that she has a healthy, positive, supportive relationship with her original family (parents, cousins, etc.) and I would have liked reading more about her own mother. Her message that you can be a good parent without sacrificing your own life--that, in fact, you can't be a good parent if you sacrifice your own life--is a good one. She is honest about how her life changed after becoming a mother. Unlike some parents I have met, she didn't try to keep the same life, plus baby. Rather, she worked on remaking a life that includes all three members of the family. Her mantra, from her own grandmother, is "Let the baby adapt to you." It's a good one.
Note: while the bio says that Woolf is a parenting blogger, I haven't read either of her blogs and the book reads well independent of her other writing.
(It's interesting that the last two mom memoirs I read, this and Mother on Fire, the writers talk about their lack of women friends. Perhaps women not having close women friends isn't as strange as I've thought it might be.)
I enjoyed reading about Woolf becoming a family with her new husband and newborn son, both unexpected. It was nice to read that she has a healthy, positive, supportive relationship with her original family (parents, cousins, etc.) and I would have liked reading more about her own mother. Her message that you can be a good parent without sacrificing your own life--that, in fact, you can't be a good parent if you sacrifice your own life--is a good one. She is honest about how her life changed after becoming a mother. Unlike some parents I have met, she didn't try to keep the same life, plus baby. Rather, she worked on remaking a life that includes all three members of the family. Her mantra, from her own grandmother, is "Let the baby adapt to you." It's a good one.
Note: while the bio says that Woolf is a parenting blogger, I haven't read either of her blogs and the book reads well independent of her other writing.
(It's interesting that the last two mom memoirs I read, this and Mother on Fire, the writers talk about their lack of women friends. Perhaps women not having close women friends isn't as strange as I've thought it might be.)
July 15, 2008
Hmm. I agree with the other reviewers who noted that this book reads like a blog. Which, of course, makes sense given the author's popularity as a blogger. I guess when it comes to an entire book, reading like a blog is not necessarily a good thing. My reactions to the observations and writing style were uneven. At times I really related to her experiences (despite not being a mother myself) and times when the style (and/or content) grated. Oddly the tone was sometimes sort of sanctimonious, despite the point generally being that she was learning stuff off-the-cuff. If the chapters were blog entries, I would have skipped those entries that annoyed me.
As others have noted, there really isn't much in the way of "wild" in the book. So be ready for mainly "child". On the plus side, there are some funny stories and the book is a quick easy read. Decent light summer fare. Just be prepared to skip the blog entries, er, chapters that are particularly judgmental of other mothers or that are overly repetitive or schlocky.
As others have noted, there really isn't much in the way of "wild" in the book. So be ready for mainly "child". On the plus side, there are some funny stories and the book is a quick easy read. Decent light summer fare. Just be prepared to skip the blog entries, er, chapters that are particularly judgmental of other mothers or that are overly repetitive or schlocky.
January 24, 2011
Very much in the same tone as her blog, which I love.
I found myself mentally with Rebecca all the way until the end of the book wherein she's receiving advice about her son possibly exhibiting signs of speech delay. I've worked with special needs kids quite a bit in my job as a nanny and if the therapists she worked with really emphasized *conformity,* they were really awful therapists and she should have demanded a second opinion. That said, it did make me squirm a bit to see her so defiantly insist on "uniqueness" - a child who needs a little bit of therapy to get started forming words is no less special or awesome or unique than a child who figures it out on his own. I'm sure that Rebecca Woolf would absolutely agree with that, but the tone of the ending of her story really emphasizes being different for its own sake - which is hard to read in the context of the "different" kids that I have known and how very much intervention has helped them embrace those differences in a way where they could *also* communicate with the outside world more effectively.
I found myself mentally with Rebecca all the way until the end of the book wherein she's receiving advice about her son possibly exhibiting signs of speech delay. I've worked with special needs kids quite a bit in my job as a nanny and if the therapists she worked with really emphasized *conformity,* they were really awful therapists and she should have demanded a second opinion. That said, it did make me squirm a bit to see her so defiantly insist on "uniqueness" - a child who needs a little bit of therapy to get started forming words is no less special or awesome or unique than a child who figures it out on his own. I'm sure that Rebecca Woolf would absolutely agree with that, but the tone of the ending of her story really emphasizes being different for its own sake - which is hard to read in the context of the "different" kids that I have known and how very much intervention has helped them embrace those differences in a way where they could *also* communicate with the outside world more effectively.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 1, 2012
I was less than impressed with this book. I tend to be a fan of the mommy blogging group and enjoy reading their trials and tribulations with their kiddos. However, this seemed like a self-indulgent way to gain validity, but at what, I don't know.
The author is constantly trying to prove that she's this cool chick that has had her life thrown off course by having a baby. No matter how many times she's talks about her love for her child and how she's happy now that he's here, the underlying message seemed to be that her life got messed up because of him. The other frustrating aspect was that she spent the entire book sounding like a petulant child. Everything from being confronted with 'norms' of baby-dom to the things that are socially acceptable were reasons for her to sulk and rebel in an effort to express individuality, both hers and her son's.
Essentially, I spent a majority of the time annoyed with her. The only redeeming part of the whole story was the way she and her husband bonded together through this unexpected baby.
The author is constantly trying to prove that she's this cool chick that has had her life thrown off course by having a baby. No matter how many times she's talks about her love for her child and how she's happy now that he's here, the underlying message seemed to be that her life got messed up because of him. The other frustrating aspect was that she spent the entire book sounding like a petulant child. Everything from being confronted with 'norms' of baby-dom to the things that are socially acceptable were reasons for her to sulk and rebel in an effort to express individuality, both hers and her son's.
Essentially, I spent a majority of the time annoyed with her. The only redeeming part of the whole story was the way she and her husband bonded together through this unexpected baby.
July 5, 2010
This book started out promisingly enough that I paid to download it onto my Kindle after reading the free sample, but it did not fulfill. The writer makes a big deal out of her skills as a writer, but most of her writing feels like it's just trying too hard. Every chapter seems to end in some sort of life epiphany illustrated by a half-page metaphor (complete with overdone explanation); some of them don't even make sense and actually NEED the explanation. She also spends a lot of time carrying on about how independent and non-conformist she is, and how she wants to raise her child that way, well yeah so do the rest of us... How about telling us more about how you are doing so, successfully, and not just how different you are (sort of). Some of this promise may be realized on the author's blog, but I would say, don't waste your time on her book. Read "It Sucked and then I Cried" by Heather Armstrong - it's SO much better.
May 15, 2008
This book is about a woman's journey to maintain her own identity while embracing a new identity as a mother. This book is sincere and insightful.
"No. That is not the world we live in. That is how we are told we must live in order to get by, and unfortunately, no one wants to speak up anymore. Is it possible that that "no child left behind" is just a gentler way of saying that no child will have the freedom to wander away? I stop laughing. 'Actually, no. Conformity is not the only way to succeed.' Because 'getting by' is not what life is about. Aspiring for mediocrity and doing what we are told is not what we should teach our children." (p258-259)
"Wisdom is for sale everywhere we look, but the real answers are inside." (p277)
"No. That is not the world we live in. That is how we are told we must live in order to get by, and unfortunately, no one wants to speak up anymore. Is it possible that that "no child left behind" is just a gentler way of saying that no child will have the freedom to wander away? I stop laughing. 'Actually, no. Conformity is not the only way to succeed.' Because 'getting by' is not what life is about. Aspiring for mediocrity and doing what we are told is not what we should teach our children." (p258-259)
"Wisdom is for sale everywhere we look, but the real answers are inside." (p277)
June 26, 2009
I faithfully follow Rebecca's blog, Girl's Gone Child, and I really enjoy her blogging style (which is why I picked up her book in the first place). One of the frequent complaints I here about her memoir is that it reads just like her blog. But that's actually what I liked about it. Her raw take on being a young mama resonates with me in a lot of ways and I would have been disappointed if the book didn't read much like her blog. It is a memoir, after all. As far as content goes, I liked watching the way that motherhood changed her in some ways and witnessing her resolve to remain unchanged in many other ways as well. I think most of us are unprepared for motherhood's journey and she chronicles her own with humor and open insight.
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