Apparently: This Is What Parenting Feels Like

by Sue Dvorak

This is not a book about how to parent. Instead, this is a book about being one.

In a uniquely fresh and honest voice, Sue Dvorak—herself a mother of six grown children—captures the minute details and full emotional arc of parenthood. In essays, poetry and vignettes that are at once humorous and heartbreaking, Dvorak brings to life the many stages of parenting along with their accompanying joys and indignities, from babyhood to graduation and beyond, when roles reverse and adult children begin to care for their own aging parents.

Encompassing a full mosaic of the weird, joyous, banal, sickening and hilarious moments of everyday parenting life, Apparently celebrates the wonder of being a parent, growing and learning alongside your children.

This is what parenting feels like.

Genres: Memoir, Parenting

354 pages, Paperback

Published April 15, 2025

Reviews

[Shelley Cooper · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book for any age of parent, grandparent or adult child. As a grandparent myself, I found myself reading through the lens of all three - child, parent and grandparent. It is a wonderful, easy read that kept me entertained, while provoking thought on memories, my own experiences and some wishful thinking of things I should have done or known, and didn’t.

I particularly enjoyed the author’s approach to parenting, which I felt was in line with how I parented, while I didn’t think too much about that at the time. We are not meant to be our children’s best friends, but their advisors, moral compasses, instructors. As such, I loved her passages on how to avoid raising Assholes, how important it is to just listen (and how incredibly difficult that can be), when we have the drive to “fix” things, and how “the beginning is not an indication of the end”.

I also appreciated her chapters on aging parents and how that affects us all, sooner or later.

I would recommend this to anyone, whether they are parents, grandparents, sons, or daughters.

[Sue Fisher · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am an Early Childhood Educator who has trained teachers as well as worked with young children and families for the last fifty years. I am now an elder and have 6 grandchildren and have just finished reading Sue Dvorak’s book entitled “Apparently: This is What Parenting Feels Like.” This is a book that every parent or grandparent should read no matter what stage your child is at. The book runs the gamut of talking about babies, young children, school aged children, adolescents, young adults and eventually caring for older adults. What makes the book special is that Sue takes us into her home and into her heart. We meet her family-Marcel, her husband and their six children-Emily, Adam. Madeline, Eva, Levi and Veronica. At every stage of development she reveals her hopes, her dreams, her frustrations, her challenges and her joys and she allows us to be part of them all. She talks to us candidly as if we were in the room with her having coffee and sharing similar parenting concerns. Her fresh sense of humour along with her deep seated belief in individual differences, trust, respect, compassion and love permeates the book. It is easy to both laugh and cry at the situations she shares with the reader. I have no hesitation in highly recommending this book. It is, indeed, a “Good Read.”

[Kari-Ann Dunlop · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was such a joy to read! I loved Sue Dvorak’s conversational writing style interspersed with short poems and light-hearted snippets of her children’s dialogue.

From a safe distance it is so much easier to see the humour in the early stages of parenting now. At one point I found myself laughing out loud, tears streaming down my face, over of all things - head lice. It wasn’t as funny at the time we went through it!

This book felt like a gift, an opportunity to revisit scenes from my own kids’ childhoods. I spent quiet moments replaying memories that are family favourites as well as jogging others that I hadn’t thought about in a long time.

I was prepared to reminisce about the parenting of my own children, not so prepared to think about my parents, their parenting of me and, eventually, my parenting of them. Apparently was an emotional read in the best way possible.

If there was a key takeaway for me amongst the nuggets of wisdom it was summed up beautifully in the conclusion. “Wherever you are in your story, be right there. Be fully and completely there, as best as you can manage…”

[Betty G · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you can’t remember a stage in life raising your children, this book will remind you of the fun and difficulties of each age: birth to adulthood. It’s not your own story but it’s a story that will spark memories. As a full time mother, I was there but I just couldn’t remember it all. Now I have a reference book to remind me of teaching driving, emergency room visits, playing horse jumping, and snuggling in for story time.

[Alexandra Cameron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Babies and children do not come with a handbook. From the moment they enter our lives, they turn them upside down and inside out. In this beautifully written book, the author shares the stories of her many years of parenting with humour, grace and a sweet poignancy that will reduce the reader to tears. Within these stories is Sue’s own practical wisdom on baby, child, teen and young adult rearing. Having raised six children, I would say she knows a thing or two about the subject. This book is a roadmap to parenting, an essential accompaniment for new and seasoned parents. It is like having the voice of a trusted friend who’s been there, done that and who shares both the triumphs and failures of what parenting is.

[Olivia B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Apparently is a beautiful collection of stories about what it feels like to be a parent - from babies, children, teens, to looking after your own parents. This book made me laugh out loud, cry, and brought me new perspective on family and life more broadly. I can’t recommend it more.

[Linda Elliott · Rating 5 out of 5]

In my teenage years, when I questioned some of my parent's decision-making, my dad would respond, "There is no book!" Well, there is now! "Apparently: This is What Parenting Feels Like" by Sue Dvorak fills a gap in this parenting world like no other...raw, earnest, illuminating, truthful and heartwarming.

It may be the best contraceptive for young couples considering starting a family or just the sage guidance required to leap! It may be the empty nester pat on the back of a good job done or it may give the courage to intervene when things have gone somewhat pear-shaped and give the strength to get back on track.

It offers the perfect tool to help our young adults understand and appreciate the day-to-day ups, downs and zig-zagging of parenting and although it may not feel like it..we all have one common goal in mind; to raise content, confident children.

As parents age, this beauty of a book reminds us and gives a gracious insight into what's coming to us all. It pulled at many heartstrings, but it also was a gentle reminder to ask our parents many questions, spend quality time with them and just listen...because...when it's gone, it's gone...

I would have found Sue's book a support unit whilst in the thick of child-rearing; 'the grind' as we often referred to it! It would have assured me that what I was experiencing was 'normal' and reassured me to worry less and enjoy more. I would have had this book on my bedside table (for 25-odd years!?) beside a yellow highlighter; it would have been my conscience and counsellor.

[Pehlaj · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a delight to read. Sue Dvorak finds the funny in the familiar. Her hilarious descriptions of her family growing up, bring back happy memories of all the trials and tribulations and the joy and accomplishments of bringing up kids.

Whether you are a parent, empty nester, grandparent, pet parent, or doting aunt or uncle, you will see yourself staring back from a vivid and relatable memory of time spent with your own kids. Distracting toddlers with tiny boxes of sun maid raisins, waiting at school drop offs, watching sports and swim lessons, worrying when they are ill, through to waiting up for your teenagers to return, driving lessons, and releasing them into the wild, or dropping them off at their university dorms. It’s all part of the journey every parent takes.

The author shares a poem written to her by her father when she first went to university and later on describes his challenges as he ages. Deeply moving and bittersweet.

Sue Dvorak is a wonderfully talented story teller. You can tell how much she has enjoyed sharing her stories. My favourite quote is that raising kids is … The sweetest of sweet things you will ever experience. This book is joyful and I strongly recommend it.

[Marinna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Apparently: This Is What Parenting Feels Like is a collection of stories that have accumulated through the author’s experiences. Sue Dvorak, a mother of 6, shares with us her children, her husband, and relationships with her parents. Through fun real-life stories of both success and difficulty, we are entertained in this ode to parenting. While not a guide, Apparently does provide a supportive basis to parents in the thick of things, parents at a reflective stage, or even contemplative soon-to-be parents looking for some insight.

I really enjoyed the wealth of stories spanning parenthood - the early unknowns to the more seasoned and earned experiences. I also enjoyed the added benefit of chapters related to aging and difficulties in navigating relationships with your own parents as they age. I would recommend this as an entertaining alternative to a lot of parenting books. Memoirs can often be so much more powerful than platitudes of parenting and Dvorak has certainly achieved this.

Thank you to NetGalley, Girl Friday Productions, GFB, and the author Sue Dvorak for an ARC of Apparently: This Is What Parenting Feels Like in exchange for an honest review!

[Dale Telfer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m a father of a 22 year old son and I thoroughly enjoyed Apparently. Indeed I had great difficulty putting it down, and did not want the experience to come to an end. The pages whiz by, and reading this book is both a delightful and insightful experience and journey. I have not read a book by any other author who writes in a more relatable and conversational style as Sue Dvorak. She writes about her own parenting experience with both humour and practicality that you cannot resist both weeping and laughing out loud. So many of the humorous moments have a Tina Fey style of laughter and imagery. This book covers all imaginable gamuts of the cycle of life and you will likely find yourself tearing through (and tearing up) the pages. From start to end the reader will acutely harken back to their own distinct moments and memories of parenting, or being raised by their own parents, and even becoming a parent to their own parents. I absolutely recommend this book for anyone and can’t wait for this first-time author to write her next book!

[Margaret ORiley · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you want a refreshingly honest, open, heartwarming book on the actual experience of parenting, this is it. It’s not a parenting guide, but a love letter to the beautiful, imperfect journey of raising children The author, a seasoned mom of 6, doesn’t shy away from sharing the difficulties and joys of parenting through personal anecdotes and lessons learned from her own journey. Instead of preaching perfection, the book celebrates the messiness and chaos that comes with the job. The end result is a candid, warm and incredibly relatable perspective on raising children that will leave you feeling incredibly blessed to be a parent.

[Roslynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sue Dvorak’s book ‘Apparently’ is a joy to read! Whether you are raising children now, have raised them or are yet to have them, this book truly describes the joy, the depth of love, the hilarity, and the tough times that parenting brings. Sue had me laughing out loud as she described various episodes of life with small children and choking up on dealing with teens. I so enjoyed her humour, and anecdotes, that reveal the depth of love for her children. It’s a gem!!

[Cynthia Friesen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dvorak’s voice resonates with authenticity, humility and a profound belief in how love, in all of its messiness, can define each family’s story. While unabashedly sharing in “Apparently” of how the relationships with her children, father and mother alike have shaped her, Dvorak demystifies our stepping onto the parenting pathway with a convincing reassurance that love will guide the way.

[Cheryl S · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Apparently” is in turn hilarious, relatable, thought provoking, and bittersweet. Sue Dvorak’s warm, engaging and candid reminisces of her own parenting journey and feelings vividly brought back long buried memories and feelings of my own journeys as a child, a parent and parent to my parents. I highly recommend this book to anyone.

[Levi Dvorak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gets me extremely excited to become a dad! Thanks
Mom!

[Maureen Heath · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Apparently” reminisces about the journey of parenting managing to capture the worry, comedy, drama, fun and love of shepherding your child from newborn into adulthood. You are teaching them; they are teaching you. “Apparently” does not insist on how to manage these little beings but does recognize all the parent’s inevitable feelings of uncertainty, worry, failures, joys, and success. Every parent can read and feel validated!