You Know I Love You Because You're Still Alive: Confessions of a Middle Aged Working Mom

by Lori B. Duff

Lori B. Duff follows up her bestselling books "Mismatched Shoes and Upside Down Pizza" and "The Armadillo, the Pickaxe, and the Laundry Basket" with this 2017 eLit Gold Medal Winner for humor. This hilarious collection of essays will make you laugh out loud and nod with recognition.

Genres: Humor, Nonfiction

197 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 26, 2016

About the author

Lori Duff is a two-time winner of the Georgia Bar Journal's fiction competition and a popular humor Blogger. Her humorous essays have won multiple awards, including the Foreword Indies Gold Medal for humor, and first place in the National Society for Newspaper Columnists in the humor category. She also writes fiction. Her novella, Broken Things, won the Georgia Independent Author of the Year Award for Literary Fiction. Her novel, Devil's Defense, the first in the Fischer at Law Series, won the GIAYA award for Legal Thrillers, and is a finalist in the National Indie Excellence Awards. Devil's Hand, the next in the series, is forthcoming in October 2025 from She Writes Press.

By day, she is the managing law partner of Jones & Duff, LLC and wages war for a living. She prefers making people laugh.

Lori is married to her husband of 26 years, Mike, and together they have two grown children and a rescue dog.

Reviews

[Cyndi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute and funny essays that any mom and wife can identify with.

[Brian Moloney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whether it’s “in the box” or “out of the box” I have absolutely nothing in common with Lori Duff.
She’s a successful attorney, judge, mom, wife, writer, teacher, chaperone and all around funny person....while I can barely brush my teeth in the morning.
So annoying....
Yet, somehow, Lori still makes me laugh and somehow relate to all of her adventures...even a trip to the gynecologist...which is just so weird.
If you’ve ever read one of Lori’s books, you’ll know what I mean and won’t be disappointed.
Just remember to shut your eyes at the appropriate moments....

[Bonnie Plante · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't actually finish this book - I'm just finished with it. I just don't find it funny. It tries to be humorous but definitely falls flat. I had high hopes for something to make me laugh and to lighten up my day. This book did neither for me.

[♏ Gina☽ · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is a group of short quips revolving around the extremely hectic, but funny life of Lori Duff. There are a variety of subjects covered, including, but not limited to: the smell of a dead armadillo under your porch (I'm not familiar with this stench, living in the far north, but even I could smell the stink while reading her description), changing a tire with stuck lug nuts while your dad stands by making sure you do it your self as a young teen, fighting the chaos at an airport terminal filled with sweaty, morning-breathing people, and forgetting which kid needs to be where at any given moment. The stories are ones that all of us can relate to, one way or the other. While making you laugh, she's also gently giving you life lessons on what really matters in life (hint: it's not being perfect in any way, shape, or form).

[Deserthomemaker · Rating 3 out of 5]

I always keep a book that has short chapters, is a collection of short stories, or is broken up into short sections that are easy to put down, on my phone. This book fell neatly into that categorization.

I really struggled with rating this book. It’s not bad or poorly written, but it’s also only moderately interesting, and not nearly as humorous as it tries to be.

[Carlton Phelps · Rating 5 out of 5]

O'My Goodness

I have laughed at many a book but none more than Ms Duff's book.
Growing up in the South, that is the way we prefer it spelt, I knew she was indeed in the South and understood us.
Her stories about her family, her life is funny and loving.
Grab a copy y'all, you will not regret it.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short chapters on things happening in her life, between family and work. In the style of Erma Bombeck, who I really think was much funnier.

[Cissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was hoping for a more modern Erma Bombeck, but this wasn't it.

It started out amusingly, but Duff got increasingly cranky and entitled as it proceeded. This despite that she is apparently unwilling to put her foot down about her husband's arguably abusive interruptions of her limited sleep, for his whims. Also, despite that he is retired and she is working, she gets to do ALL the second shift- like getting up early to get the kids off to school, and returning home to a disaster because hubby cannot be arsed to put cereal bowl in the dishwasher, among many other things.

It's Duff's call, of course; we all make our own adjustments to life as it is. But it's not as funny as she thinks it is, and really- she needs her adolescent kids and retired husband to step up. It's not adorable that she declines to do that.

Also- lots of bragging about her second house, etc. OK, you have an income most of us can only aspire to...but that rather separates you from "everywoman".

The first few essays were amusing, but they got more annoying as it proceeded... especially the periodic, blatantly shameless plugs to buy her PREVIOUS books.

Disappointing.

[Tina · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was very much hoping this book was going to be funny but wow, it really wasn't. I'm not sure what editor felt a personal pet peeve rant for over 200 pages was a good idea but I certainly wouldn't have okayed it. The reason this book got one star was because I got it free so didn't feel upset about spending money on it.

[Emma · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dnf super boring

Maybe I didn't get the point. It was dull. I didn't exhale sharply nor smile. It was just boring mum stories. I have plenty of those stories on my own.

[James Grubb · Rating 1 out of 5]

It just isn't my kind of book, it just isn't well written and there was no chance it would make me laugh out loud. I just put it aside to read something I do like, Donna Leon, 'The Waters of Eternal Youth'.

[T. Giachetti · Rating 1 out of 5]

The only humorous aspect of this book is the crazy cartoon picture on the cover. Stories were not well written and lacked being even a little bit funny. Perhaps I was just spoiled by reading Emma Bombeck. I made it to the end of this book, but only because I'm not one to quit when the going gets tough.

[Kimberly Lynne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Needed something quick & funny. In Duff's mixed bag of essays, some were wake-your-bedmate-up-trying-to-stifle-your-snorts funny while others came off like un-funny menopausal hot-flash rants. (Ask me how I know.) The overall collection felt short on cohesiveness & long on repetition. Certain phrases just kept popping up: "The muddy armpit of the Oconee" springs to mind. Still, one more star than It was OK for himself's "Would you please go read that somewhere else? I'm trying to sleep."

[Richard Croner · Rating 4 out of 5]

While reading this book I thought there was something vaguely familiar about the style. It was not until the end when I saw that the author had attended an Erma Bombeck writing seminar that all of a sudden it clicked in my brain. I am 72 years old and grew up in a small town outside of Dayton, Ohio. I had a daily paper route for the Dayton Daily News and started reading the newspaper at a very early age. Erma Bombeck wrote weekly articles and since I read the paper from cover to cover I became quite familiar with her style. Lori Duff has captured Erma's style (as I remember) of stream of consciousness writing. That said I enjoyed reading this book. In school at that point in time, "compare and contrast" was heavily used and even today I resort to that thought process while reading another persons thoughts about life. Doing that with this book was fun and I found a lot of her thoughts with which I totally agreed. This book is a fun read.

[P.S. Meraux · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let me start by admitting that I’m part of the boxless faction with an innate sense of direction. And dodging girls who want to ‘thread’ my eyebrows is a regular occurrence -- even if I’m not getting my toenails done.

Lori Duff has a wonderfully eclectic collection of essays that any mom or reader familiar with juggling the pressures of family, career and a contrary spouse would understand. I’m not a parent myself but I found that her funny insights into parenting and surviving life’s daily challenges made for an engaging read.
Her writing style reminds me of comedian Sarah Millican’s books.
I liked the “my personal summer” essay best. As a woman of a certain age -- I can totally relate. This is a book that many readers will see shades of their own lives in-- in all of its humorous and sometimes infamous glory. I know that I did.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

A pretty typical mom-blog-turned book memoir. Some entries were definitely funny enough, and the author's personality and voice were definitely distinguishable. Overall, though, the content lacked substance, and the writer seems committed to staying on surface level topics at least 90% of the time, which makes the book read more like a few meh essays in the parenting section of HuffPost. This was a freebie on my Kindle, so though I didn't like it a ton, it wasn't bad, and was a quick, light, easy read, for sure. There simply are other books that do just what this book tries to do better. Only two stars.

[Jim Been · Rating 2 out of 5]

In the acknowledgements at the end of the book, Lori Duff mentions the Erma Bombeck Writers Workshop. That made perfect sense, because that is who she is trying so hard to imitate. Unfortunately, while Lori Duff is a good writer, she is not very funny. Some of her essays are humorous, but then they start to fall into a predictable pattern of setup-observation-punchline.

I'll have to check out her other books, because I have the feeling she could produce an excellent novel, away from the humor essay format.

[Casey · Rating 2 out of 5]

This had some good reviews and I got it for free through my alerts set on Bookbub. I thought it would be nice to have a little humor to break up the rather serious novels I've been reading. However, I couldn't finish it because I really wasn't pulled in. There were a few semi-funny stories in the first so many pages but as I do not have children myself, I couldn't really relate. I would say if you are a parent and want something relate-able this would be a quick read but otherwise, do not suggest it.

[Limary Rodriguez · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a mom of two girls, that happens to be an attorney like the author and who can perfecly well identified with almost all the issues talk about in the book. This is why I can only give it 3 stars. I know the feeling and I did laugh, cry and nodded for the stories in the book. But I can writte thousends of pages just like her. I was expecting advice or stories with a magical ending with details about how everything got fix. Without that I am just going back to my fantasy books to get lost in an imaginary book that help me forget my beautifully chaotic family life.

[Archana Purohit · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked up this book simply because I was not in the mood to read something which would need to me think and reflect plus I had gotten a free copy of this on Kindle plus it had really short chapters making it an ideal bedtime read. I had no expectations at all. And that way it fit the purpose. While nothing remarkable, it was not difficult to read through the book. Kept me mildly entertained and helped me pass the time.

[Pablo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a collection of mostly 1 or 2 page observations from the author's life, similar to a Dave Barry or whomever your local paper's humorist maybe.

Personally I only found a few stories that actually made me laugh out loud. The writing itself seemed more "homey" than first rate. Definitely readable but it wouldn't get lumped with the top humorists. Writing is difficult, kudos to the author for being good enough to be published.

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny and real

This book made me laugh out loud! So many of the observations resonated with me that I wish I had written it myself! I recommend this book for anyone over forty, anyone who has lived both north and south of the Mason Dixon line, anyone who has raised teens, and anyone with a sense of humor!

[Barbi Huhn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was hysterical! I was totally able to relate to it since I am a Mom as well. The author says some of the things that I have been thinking in my head. She has funny stories all throughout. Her occasional lists I agreed with almost completely. One of the things that I like the most about the book is that she is real about everything and doesn't seem to sugarcoat anything.

[Dawn Venditelli · Rating 2 out of 5]

A disjointed collection of boring essays

The author chose to write about her daily life in a series of essays, often repeating phrases and sentences from on essay to the other, writing about topics that were neither interesting or funny. The good part of this book is that if gives me hope fo writing and publishing my own story, as it is no more exciting than hers.

[Andrea · Rating 2 out of 5]

I never could get into this book. The stories are reasonably humorous in that parenting way and real, and I can relate to most of them, but I just couldn't get excited about reading on. I would smile a little at some parts but never really laughed at any part. I ended up skimming the last half of the book.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh man. It is so much fun to read the thoughts and hilarity of someone I am pretty sure would be a super good friend...you know, if we knew each other or lived anywhere close or anything. Make sure whoever is nearby is ready to listen to you laugh and laugh and then have you read the super funny things you just read aloud to them.

[Jennifer Shook · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't actually finish this book, I'm just finished with it. I was hoping for a book to make me laugh and while this book tried, it failed, completely. If you want a laugh out loud parenting book read "Toddlers are A$$holes".

[KATE FOX · Rating 3 out of 5]

Light hearted and totally true!

I can definitely relate to Duff's experiences as a mom and as an introvert. But her unique storytelling style is much more enjoyable than any story I've ever told!

[Andi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like talking to a friend m

I have read several of her books and will continue to do so. I love each and every one of them.

[Pattie Gaudreau · Rating 5 out of 5]

:)

This is a precious book,this woman is a riot!
I wish she was my friend so we could have Starbucks and I'd probably pretty my pants from laughing so hard!