What do you think?
Rate this book
Mama Tried: Dispatches from the Seamy Underbelly of Modern Parenting
New Yorker cartoonist Emily Flake relates the hilarious horrors of pregnancy, birth, and early parenting in this funny, poignant, and beautifully illustrated book.
For most people, having a child doesn't go exactly as planned. Not many are willing to admit that not only did they dislike the early days of parenting, they sometimes hated it. Mama Tried is a relatable collection of cartoons and essays pertaining to the good, bad, and (very) ugly parenting experiences we all face. Subjects range from "are you ready for children?" to "baby gear class-warfare." With incredible honesty, Flake tackles everything from morning sickness to sleep training, shedding much needed light on the gnarly realities of breastfeeding, child proofing, mommy groups, and every unrealistic expectation in between. Mama Tried will be an indispensable companion for sleepless parents and a fond reminder for those already out of the woods.
For most people, having a child doesn't go exactly as planned. Not many are willing to admit that not only did they dislike the early days of parenting, they sometimes hated it. Mama Tried is a relatable collection of cartoons and essays pertaining to the good, bad, and (very) ugly parenting experiences we all face. Subjects range from "are you ready for children?" to "baby gear class-warfare." With incredible honesty, Flake tackles everything from morning sickness to sleep training, shedding much needed light on the gnarly realities of breastfeeding, child proofing, mommy groups, and every unrealistic expectation in between. Mama Tried will be an indispensable companion for sleepless parents and a fond reminder for those already out of the woods.
192 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 6, 2015
8 people are currently reading
836 people want to read
About the author
Emily Flake
25 books36 followersEmily Flake was born in a town that featured a dancing bear fountain, a mural of ice cream eating elves, and an unnameable sense of dread. She got out of there and became an illustrator, cartoonist, and a writer. Her cartoons and illustrations have appeared in publications all over the world.
Above all, she means well.
Above all, she means well.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 104 reviews
March 7, 2016
A very funny--and hilariously profane and frank--book about parenting written and drawn by cartoonist Flake who also does cartoons for The New Yorker, The Onion, and so on.
Here's a page she shares on her website:
http://www.emilyflake.com/mama-tried/
This is a book written by a woman for women who are pregnant or new mothers, not a middle aged guy, but I have kids. I read this because I read the wonderful Miseryland by Keiler Roberts, which is also in part about becoming a mother, showing it is not so easy, and also sometimes/often laugh out loud and wincingly funny. I saw Mama Tried mentioned on a tweet from Meg Lemke's Mutha Magazine, which I just happened look at because I saw Miseryland reviewed there.
Flake writes about typical topics related to being pregnant and parenting, nothing all that surprising as to topics, and illustrates with cartoons throughout. The way she talks about them is not, shall we say, consistent with the popular What to Expect When You Are Expecting. I guess the set up at glance would look like a conventional How to Be a New Parent type book, but is at a closer look the Real Person's version. With the laughs a new mother sorely needs.
This just came out October 2015 so it should be up for humor awards in the next year. But I warn you, (or encourage you), Flake has a wild potty mouth. I am in the latter category, relieved to see her talking like a real person and not Dr. Spock. The book can be graphic, which is also fun and refreshing. She's not your church lady grandmother, that's for sure. I strongly recommend it, and especially for new moms who are not easily shocked, who have a sense of humor. The tone is sweet, not harsh, too. You'll like her.
Where did the title come from, kids? An old Merle Haggard song about a guy in prison who failed to follow his mother's advice:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxQbv...
Here's a page she shares on her website:
http://www.emilyflake.com/mama-tried/
This is a book written by a woman for women who are pregnant or new mothers, not a middle aged guy, but I have kids. I read this because I read the wonderful Miseryland by Keiler Roberts, which is also in part about becoming a mother, showing it is not so easy, and also sometimes/often laugh out loud and wincingly funny. I saw Mama Tried mentioned on a tweet from Meg Lemke's Mutha Magazine, which I just happened look at because I saw Miseryland reviewed there.
Flake writes about typical topics related to being pregnant and parenting, nothing all that surprising as to topics, and illustrates with cartoons throughout. The way she talks about them is not, shall we say, consistent with the popular What to Expect When You Are Expecting. I guess the set up at glance would look like a conventional How to Be a New Parent type book, but is at a closer look the Real Person's version. With the laughs a new mother sorely needs.
This just came out October 2015 so it should be up for humor awards in the next year. But I warn you, (or encourage you), Flake has a wild potty mouth. I am in the latter category, relieved to see her talking like a real person and not Dr. Spock. The book can be graphic, which is also fun and refreshing. She's not your church lady grandmother, that's for sure. I strongly recommend it, and especially for new moms who are not easily shocked, who have a sense of humor. The tone is sweet, not harsh, too. You'll like her.
Where did the title come from, kids? An old Merle Haggard song about a guy in prison who failed to follow his mother's advice:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxQbv...
December 16, 2016
A mix of occasionally-illustrated snarky essays and short comics-style works. Feels like a blog collection, though I'm not sure it is.
Basically, she walks through the process of having a kid -- conception, choosing a name, the actual birth, post-partum sex, breast-feeding, etc. and gives her take and experience (and curses a lot).
I picked it up because I recently became a stepparent, and wondered if any of her reflections would be therapeutic or illuminating. And I have a general interest in comics-adjacent-works, as Followers will know. And I think I saw one of her short pieces somewhere and it amused me. So, yeah.
It didn't really speak to my experience at all (my kid was 5 when he moved into my house), but it checked the other two boxes ok.
It's a little goofy, it's a lotta jaded, it's funny at times, it's definitely crass and out-of-the-box. She took her "pregnancy photos" with a gorilla mask on, for example.
Obvs don't read if you're sensitive about any sacred cows in this area.
I like her illustration style (fullcolor!), and would love to read a full-developed graphic novel by the woman.
It didn't break my brain with awesome or anything, but I didn't seriously consider quitting the book, so take that endorsement as you will. :)
Basically, she walks through the process of having a kid -- conception, choosing a name, the actual birth, post-partum sex, breast-feeding, etc. and gives her take and experience (and curses a lot).
I picked it up because I recently became a stepparent, and wondered if any of her reflections would be therapeutic or illuminating. And I have a general interest in comics-adjacent-works, as Followers will know. And I think I saw one of her short pieces somewhere and it amused me. So, yeah.
It didn't really speak to my experience at all (my kid was 5 when he moved into my house), but it checked the other two boxes ok.
It's a little goofy, it's a lotta jaded, it's funny at times, it's definitely crass and out-of-the-box. She took her "pregnancy photos" with a gorilla mask on, for example.
Obvs don't read if you're sensitive about any sacred cows in this area.
I like her illustration style (fullcolor!), and would love to read a full-developed graphic novel by the woman.
It didn't break my brain with awesome or anything, but I didn't seriously consider quitting the book, so take that endorsement as you will. :)
September 20, 2016
I don't have kids, nor do I ever intend to, but this book made me laugh so many times, and empathize with my new-parent friends. I want to buy it for all of them.
April 4, 2018
This one got the fourth star from me because one night while I was reading it, I laughed so hard that I woke Charlie up. A funny li'l snapshot of my reality.
July 22, 2022
I've been a big fan of Emily Flake's cartoons/comics published in The New Yorker for years now. This book was recommended by a good friend, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It is basically about the author's pregnancy, birth and 1st two years of her daughter's life. It is a combination of very short essays and cartoons on various aspects of pregnancy and child rearing.
Ms. Flake has quite an irreverent sense of humor, and this shines throughout the book. There are quite a few "bad" words spread throughout, and if the concept of a toddler telling her mother to f**k off is not your cup of tea, then this may not be the book for you. I happen to love Emily Flake's sense of humor, and I laughed out loud often and would read lines to my wife. Very enjoyable experience.
Ms. Flake has quite an irreverent sense of humor, and this shines throughout the book. There are quite a few "bad" words spread throughout, and if the concept of a toddler telling her mother to f**k off is not your cup of tea, then this may not be the book for you. I happen to love Emily Flake's sense of humor, and I laughed out loud often and would read lines to my wife. Very enjoyable experience.
October 16, 2015
Mama Tried made me laugh out loud many, many times. No, I don't have kids yet, but am hoping to soon, and this book was both informative and a little disturbing. Let's just say, I'm glad I won't be raising kids in Brooklyn. But what I most appreciate about Flake's approach is that she's able to laugh at both herself and the parenting world around her and the chaos that having kids can bring to your life. Her essays are heartfelt and honest and spare very little about the sometimes harsh, sometimes wondrous reality of her experience of motherhood, and the cartoons are a delight (my favorite is the one about why your baby is crying, which I won't spoil, save for say that one made me snort with laughter). This isn't just a "look at all the ridiculous things hipster moms do" book, although there's some of that. Flake also explores how her thoughts, feelings and everyday life changed once she got pregnant, how unprepared she was for those changes, and what those have meant for her relationship. I'm giving this is a gift to a new mom, who I hope appreciates it as much as I did.
April 4, 2016
A not-so-guilty pleasure of mine, now two years into motherhood, is to read accounts by other mothers who are not afraid to admit that pregnancy and those early days of parenting were kind of hilarious but in other ways really kind of sucked. I thoroughly enjoyed Flake's mini-essays and especially the cartoons that illustrated them. (The last one, about how you become aware of mortality after becoming a parent in a way that you never could at any other time in your life, was particularly you're-putting-into-words-something-I-didn't-know-how-to-put-into-words good, and her drawing of the monster teething tooth made me laugh out loud.) Recommended for both moms and those who might want a little window into our addled brains.
February 9, 2017
Yep yep yep. Flake, late of the New Yorker cartoonist staff, has a great sense of wanting to be a real good parent and also to be a really authentic version of herself. These things may sound compatible or mutually exclusive, depending on your point of view. Basically, in the upper-middle-class scheme of things, it's hard to maintain a common sense attitude when natural-birth, attachment parenting, mama is always right is one end of the spectrum, and hand-it-over, give-me-the-drugs is the other end. The reality is so much more messy, and hilarious, and Flake chronicles pretty darn well, in an appropriately shaky hand. Well done, and one to watch.
October 28, 2015
review to follow.
March 30, 2019
This made me giggle but honestly came across as a little lazy especially having just read the very similar Kid Gloves. Flake does seem like a fun person to hang around/talk parenting craziness with. What I am most interested in is whatever deep psychological issues led her to spend the majority of her labor convincing herself she had gas pains and resulted in almost having her baby in a cab, my ultimate NYC nightmare!
November 10, 2020
Honest and hilarious with a heartbreaking ending. Mary, I thought of you and “completing the stress cycle,” as I laughed so hard I cried.
February 18, 2022
Hilarious as hell
February 5, 2017
Both cynical and sweet. Too crude for my taste, and I wasn't a fan of the art. Some of the essays/comics made me laugh, but the last essay was a huge bummer.
November 6, 2015
The Parenting Humor genre has such a fleeting audience; and this book is about pregnancy, infants and early toddlers, so I (as a mom of 8yr olds) didn't really expect to find it entertaining but IT IS! Emily Flake is hilarious in a thrillingly subversive, perverse kinda way - the funny is in the words AND the art, I loved all of it, and can't wait for Tug to get bigger so her mom can publish the next installment.
November 9, 2015
This was funny but not as funny as I had hoped from reviews. A fast read for sure, but not a lot of depth. Still, a fun read for a parent of a young child/children who enjoys an irreverent look at the trial-by-fire shit show that can be parenting :)
October 9, 2019
Probs best for post-natal funsies since much of the humor involves Flake poking fun at the inundation of conflicting information a new mother/father receive while raising a newborn-toddler. Fresh humor for the parenting shelves.
November 20, 2015
Funny AND reassuring!
April 30, 2019
3.5 stars. I liked that this book was mixed media. There were some pages that were full of text and then others that were completely drawings with minimal words. I liked the art style but thought the handwritten font was somewhat hard to read. I am rating this book slightly above average because of the good art, relatable subject matter, and times it made me chuckle and/or feel understood. That being said, some of the content in here just isn't my humor so it was "meh" for me, but thats totally an individual preference based on my humor. This book is heaviest on pregnancy and infancy, but it does touch into toddlerhood. Furthermore, the last section that is "The Part Without Any Jokes" almost made me cry. Her daughter is 2 at the time she ends the book and mine is currently 15 months and it just is so bittersweet to watch her grow up. I want so much to bottle up this time and keep it forever (minus the hard parts). Before she got teeth I wanted to save her little gummy smile in my permanent memory and now I want to save her Frankenstein/Penguin walk and her cheeks that are nothing short of kissable. I love watching her grow and learn but saying goodbye to the past is so hard! The author talks about her fear of death and something happening to her family and while thats not something that regularly is on my mind, when she brings it up it makes me realize how precious every day is, even if its hard and monotonous.
January 24, 2023
An irreverent graphic memoir of pregnancy and early childhood, Emily Flake’s comic Mama Tried: Dispatches from the Seamy Underbelly of Modern Parenting is a relatable and funny, if a little raw, account of how parenthood changes you. It’s definitely less cutesy than, say, Lucy Knisley’s work, but also a little less insightful.
All in all, Flake takes a much more droll and flippant approach, which alternates between Flake’s personal recollections of her pregnancy and her daughter’s infancy up to becoming a toddler and amusing doodles, her loose watercolors having a bit of a Far Side type of absurdity. From demon-possessed babies to various exaggerated examples of parenting styles, Flake mocks the fraught state of the contemporary parenting industrial complex which pressures parents, especially mothers, into feeling like they are doing everything wrong, which is a refreshing point of view. At times, though, her humor can punch down a little, feeling kind of ableist at times for instance, but it definitely captures that kind of hip jadedness fitting Flake’s New Yorker style.
I discuss other comics expressing the feelings and experience of pregnancy and new parenthood at Harris' Tome Corner.
All in all, Flake takes a much more droll and flippant approach, which alternates between Flake’s personal recollections of her pregnancy and her daughter’s infancy up to becoming a toddler and amusing doodles, her loose watercolors having a bit of a Far Side type of absurdity. From demon-possessed babies to various exaggerated examples of parenting styles, Flake mocks the fraught state of the contemporary parenting industrial complex which pressures parents, especially mothers, into feeling like they are doing everything wrong, which is a refreshing point of view. At times, though, her humor can punch down a little, feeling kind of ableist at times for instance, but it definitely captures that kind of hip jadedness fitting Flake’s New Yorker style.
I discuss other comics expressing the feelings and experience of pregnancy and new parenthood at Harris' Tome Corner.
May 17, 2021
Emily Flake has a little piece online entitled "I was in charge of the deck chairs on the Titanic, and they absolutely did need rearranging" that is one of my very favorite thing I have ever read in my entire life. It seemed fitting to see what else she has written, so here we are.
As old, wizened mother of school aged children, reading about being pregnant and having newborns and toddlers is almost like reading about high school romance; it seems so far away. But the book was funny and clever, and the illustrations enhanced the experience. She's also very clear that this book is about the experience of a soft, middle class person.
What I really loved about the book is that it captured the experience of having newborns and toddlers in the paradox of being the sweetest, most amazing time with little humans who are so distinctly fun and wonderfully special, and also it sucks. The last chapter of the book is serious, without any jokes, and it is so perfect, spiritual and beautiful. That last chapter made it possible for me to understand things about myself that I haven't ever articulated as clearly as she did.
As old, wizened mother of school aged children, reading about being pregnant and having newborns and toddlers is almost like reading about high school romance; it seems so far away. But the book was funny and clever, and the illustrations enhanced the experience. She's also very clear that this book is about the experience of a soft, middle class person.
What I really loved about the book is that it captured the experience of having newborns and toddlers in the paradox of being the sweetest, most amazing time with little humans who are so distinctly fun and wonderfully special, and also it sucks. The last chapter of the book is serious, without any jokes, and it is so perfect, spiritual and beautiful. That last chapter made it possible for me to understand things about myself that I haven't ever articulated as clearly as she did.
Read
January 12, 2020I've loved Flake's work everywhere I've seen it, so I was excited to read a collection. Overall, it's magnificent, and a lot sharper than not only general "new parent" writing, which can be precious or naive, but than a lot of the writing about the gory, messy, not-fun parts of being a parent, to a degree that could be hard for some to take. I'm not talking about the profane language about bodily functions of any type (which I think are important!), but a few of the jokes that allude to best ways to swaddle, which include consideration of, as a parent, hanging oneself. On the one hand, I think this is the type of book best read as close as possible to the newborn/baby stage (I feel that I was just on the edge of remembering what is described here, and therefore appreciating it), but also maybe not for anyone who is having a rough time with it.
And there are a few jarring notes - the word "spazzy" in the second sentence of the book? There were a few other times where the author crossed my line at least. But overall, this is wonderful.
And there are a few jarring notes - the word "spazzy" in the second sentence of the book? There were a few other times where the author crossed my line at least. But overall, this is wonderful.
September 11, 2017
"A tendency toward glibness can be a gift; it keeps you from panicking too quickly and can help leaven a heavy situation."
A fun, quick read about pregnancy, childbirth, and newborn care, with a coda about toddlers. The author lives in/near Park Slope, Brooklyn, a.k.a. Ground Zero of the yuppie/hipster parenting wars. She's an excellent observer of this environment and about early parenthood in general: Mama Tried is laugh-out-loud funny, sprinkled with gross, graphic, entirely true bits. Pages of narrative are interspersed with illustrations and pages of cartoons (e.g. Why is my baby crying?). A great gift book (depending on the receiver's sense of humor) for expectant parents, new parents, veteran parents.
See also: Welcome to the Club by Raquel D'Apice, Someone Could Get Hurt by Drew Magary
A fun, quick read about pregnancy, childbirth, and newborn care, with a coda about toddlers. The author lives in/near Park Slope, Brooklyn, a.k.a. Ground Zero of the yuppie/hipster parenting wars. She's an excellent observer of this environment and about early parenthood in general: Mama Tried is laugh-out-loud funny, sprinkled with gross, graphic, entirely true bits. Pages of narrative are interspersed with illustrations and pages of cartoons (e.g. Why is my baby crying?). A great gift book (depending on the receiver's sense of humor) for expectant parents, new parents, veteran parents.
See also: Welcome to the Club by Raquel D'Apice, Someone Could Get Hurt by Drew Magary
September 18, 2017
It's comforting to know that parenting challenges haven't changed all that much since 1985. The newest factor to make parents feel inadequate is the ubiquitous presence of social media in which everyone else feels free to judge while hiding behind carefully curated photos and clever quips. This combination graphic novel/short essay book explores parenting from pre-conception woes through toddler tantrums. My favorite sections include Baby Registries of the 1%, Baby Shower Activities, and Stroller Accessories. The Kinchester Montessori Preschool Evaluation for Branwyn Z. Adams-Wright hits many current parenting targets with sharply barbed arrows. This book would probably not be a good choice for the idealistic, "I'm going to do it perfectly" first-time mother. It would be a great choice for the second or third time mother who has a wicked sense of humor.
August 10, 2021
This is an illustrated comic memoir of the author becoming a mother, from conception through toddlerhood. It was a little hard to relate to the New York City parent life - tiny apartments, competitive daycares, judgy parents, hiring a maid. It was oddly sparsely illustrated for a graphic memoir. Also there were some sections that were just handwriting with no drawing, which is one of my pet peeves because I find it so hard to read and don't understand why it can't just be typed. I'll be honest, I skimmed a lot of the book because it got quite repetitive and a lot of the humor didn't land with me. But, I've read a lot of books like this now and maybe I'm just getting a little tired with them.
March 16, 2018
I picked this up after being impressed by Flake's comics in other publications. Unfortunately, with a few exceptions, the written passages in this book did not showcase Flake's wit and creativity the way her illustrations do. I found most of the chapters to be disappointing, but the included illustrated scenes, graphs, and satirical advertisements were excellent. I'd read a graphic novel by Flake in a heartbeat, but probably never another book of hers that relies on the written passages so much.
May 11, 2019
I expected this to be all cartoons, and it was actually a mix of cartoons and essays or blog post-style writing. Strangely, I ended up enjoying the essays the most and thinking the author was the funniest and most irreverent here. I really liked that she focused not only on pregnancy and labor but on the total roller coaster of the newborn/postpartum phase and adjusting to motherhood. There’s even some stuff about toddlers. And her final, serious chapter was actually very sweet and touching. Overall this was a snarky and relatable read!
July 12, 2017
Written and drawn by a comic artist for the New Yorker, I found it to be comical, fun, and heartfelt. Essentially an illustrative memoir about the oddities and emotional rollercoaster mothers go through in pregnancy and early parenthood, it hit a little too close to home. I enjoyed it and have recommended it to friends going through similar experiences and looking for a relatable chuckle.
March 5, 2020
There were parts of this graphic novel that were really funny and very true about pregnancy, however, I just didn't connect with the author's art and writing style. Sometimes the writing just seemed over-the-top about describing what a woman's body goes through during pregnancy for a laugh. Some of it really was funny, but some of the art/writing was a little too crude for me.
June 13, 2025
What a steaming turd of a book. I couldn’t finish it and that’s a rarity for me. Author is absolutely insufferable and tries way too hard to be funny. She’s not, at all. I like this kind of humor but she doesn’t do it well. I started it a few years ago, tossed it aside because I hated it, picked it up again just recently, remembered why I hated it and tossed it in the donation bin.
January 27, 2018
I really wanted to like this book. I've been on the lookout for a more authentic (read: crass, funny, and poignant) book about parenthood. This worth a few good laughs, but for the most part, I will walked away annoyed by the whole genre.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 104 reviews