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Growing Girls: The Mother of All Adventures
Award-winning author Jeanne Marie Laskas has charmed and delighted readers with her heartwarming and hilarious tales of life on Sweetwater Farm. Now she offers her most personal and most deeply felt memoir yet as she embarks on her greatest, most terrifying, most rewarding endeavor of all….
A good mother, writes Jeanne Marie Laskas in her latest report from Sweetwater Farm, would have bought a house in the suburbs with a cul-de-sac for her kids to ride bikes around instead of a ramshackle house in the middle of nowhere with a rooster. With the wryly observed self-doubt all mothers and mothers-to-be will instantly recognize, Laskas offers a poignant and laugh-out-loud-funny meditation on that greatest–and most impossible–of all life’s motherhood.
What is it, she muses, that’s so exhausting about being a mom? You’d think raising two little girls would be a breeze compared to dealing with the barely controlled anarchy of “attack” roosters, feuding neighbors, and a scheme to turn sheep into lawn mowers on the fifty-acre farm she runs with her bemused husband Alex. But, as any mother knows, you’d be wrong.
From struggling with the issues of race and identity as she raises two children adopted from China to taking her daughters to the mall for their first manicures, Jeanne Marie captures those magic moments that make motherhood the most important and rewarding job in the world–even if it’s never been done right. For, as she concludes in one of her three a.m. worry sessions, feeling like a bad mother is the only way to know you’re doing your job.
Whether confronting Sasha’s language delay, reflecting on Anna’s devotion to a creepy backwards-running chicken, feeling outclassed by the fabulous homeroom moms, or describing the rich, secret language each family shares, these candid observations from the front lines of parenthood are filled with love and laughter–and radiant with the tough, tender, and timeless wisdom only raising kids can teach us.
A good mother, writes Jeanne Marie Laskas in her latest report from Sweetwater Farm, would have bought a house in the suburbs with a cul-de-sac for her kids to ride bikes around instead of a ramshackle house in the middle of nowhere with a rooster. With the wryly observed self-doubt all mothers and mothers-to-be will instantly recognize, Laskas offers a poignant and laugh-out-loud-funny meditation on that greatest–and most impossible–of all life’s motherhood.
What is it, she muses, that’s so exhausting about being a mom? You’d think raising two little girls would be a breeze compared to dealing with the barely controlled anarchy of “attack” roosters, feuding neighbors, and a scheme to turn sheep into lawn mowers on the fifty-acre farm she runs with her bemused husband Alex. But, as any mother knows, you’d be wrong.
From struggling with the issues of race and identity as she raises two children adopted from China to taking her daughters to the mall for their first manicures, Jeanne Marie captures those magic moments that make motherhood the most important and rewarding job in the world–even if it’s never been done right. For, as she concludes in one of her three a.m. worry sessions, feeling like a bad mother is the only way to know you’re doing your job.
Whether confronting Sasha’s language delay, reflecting on Anna’s devotion to a creepy backwards-running chicken, feeling outclassed by the fabulous homeroom moms, or describing the rich, secret language each family shares, these candid observations from the front lines of parenthood are filled with love and laughter–and radiant with the tough, tender, and timeless wisdom only raising kids can teach us.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published July 21, 2005
8 people are currently reading
167 people want to read
About the author
Jeanne Marie Laskas
18 books139 followersJeanne Marie Laskas is an American writer and professor.
From 1994 until 2008 she was a regular, syndicated columnist for The Washington Post Magazine, where her "Significant Others" essays appeared weekly. She has written feature stories for GQ, where she is a correspondent. Formerly a Contributing Editor at Esquire, her stories have appeared in numerous anthologies, including Best American Sportswriting. She also is the voice behind "Ask Laskas" in Reader's Digest and writes the "My Life as a Mom" column for Ladies' Home Journal.
A professor in the creative writing program at the University of Pittsburgh, she lives in Scenery Hill, Pennsylvania.
From 1994 until 2008 she was a regular, syndicated columnist for The Washington Post Magazine, where her "Significant Others" essays appeared weekly. She has written feature stories for GQ, where she is a correspondent. Formerly a Contributing Editor at Esquire, her stories have appeared in numerous anthologies, including Best American Sportswriting. She also is the voice behind "Ask Laskas" in Reader's Digest and writes the "My Life as a Mom" column for Ladies' Home Journal.
A professor in the creative writing program at the University of Pittsburgh, she lives in Scenery Hill, Pennsylvania.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
September 24, 2009
Many women have written books, or essays, in which they try to explain what motherhood is. And sometimes they get really, really close. But Ms. Laskas nails it. She hits the bull’s eye. This is the true story, written in an entertaining and very readable manner, of a couple who adopt two little Chinese girls and raise them out in the country. It is utterly perfect.
July 8, 2010
The third and to me, the best of this excellent series of memoirs. Laskas writes about the joys and conflicts of motherhood in an honest, engaging, and moving way. The book moved me to tears almost as often as it made me laugh out loud.
May 17, 2009
Read this book in one day....Loved it as much as the other two. Laskas is one of my favorite writers, and this is coming from a fan of fiction, not creative nonfiction.
June 12, 2010
I really enjoyed this book. I liked Fifty Acres and a Poodle, but was disappointed in her 2nd book, so I was a little apprehensive about reading this one. I really enjoyed all the essays, and this one felt more complete, more like a whole book and less like a collection of random thoughts. The author's feelings about motherhood resonated with me, and while I can't begin to imagine all those animals needing to be cared for, the descriptive writing (dare I say it - "creative nonfiction?") was evocative, making for an extremely pleasurable read.
June 9, 2010
This was the third in the series of books -- which began with 50 Acres and a Poodle. Loved that first book, the second, not as much, and the this third one even a little less. It still had some really cute parts though. Love her perspectives. Raising kids IS the Mother of all Adventures, and that she's just doing the best she can, and pushing through the trials, self-doubt and everything else that comes along with it makes this very real, and not surprising that it might have been a little harder time in her life in which to be writing.
May 15, 2018
I really enjoyed Laskas' first two memoirs of farmlife and thought I would enjoy this one equally, as it is more about motherhood, etc. But Laskas spends just too much time waxing poetic and not enough covering real life. I did enjoy the antecdotes about the animals and the kids on the farm, but I wanted more of that.
January 5, 2021
I absolutely loved this book- brilliant nonfiction collection of stories about motherhood, country life, and adoption through Laskis’ excellent narrative. Eloquently written, couldn’t often put it down.
October 30, 2020
Humorous, heartfelt and so relatable! Going to check out her other books now!
September 8, 2024
Another delightful read from the author. I think this was my favorite of the 3 books in this "series", mostly because I'm a mother with small children and it all felt so relatable.
March 18, 2013
I spotted this book in the library, and after doing a quick read of the inside jacket cover, I thought "Hmm, I love stories about farm life" and decided to read it. I didn't really thinking much about it not being entirely about farm life, but mostly about raising her two adopted daughters (you'd have thought the title would have given that away, but no, not to me, apparently). When I first started the book, I was annoyed. "I don't care about motherhood, just tell me about the farm!" I thought. But about 30 or so pages into the book, I changed my mind. I was interested in her life on the farm AND as a mother of adopted girls (partially because though I don't have kids, the idea of adoption is always in my mind for when I am ready for kids). So while I had to force myself through the start of the book, I found myself looking forward to reading the rest.
Knocked it down to 3 stars mainly because of the rough start to the book, and because I get terribly annoyed at books which jump around too much, and this one did. I felt like she was writing her inner monologue, which at times was entertaining, but other times it got so far off track that I forgot what she was talking about in the first place. But in the end, I liked it enough to go to the library and get out her first book (50 Acres and a Poodle), which I am reading now. I'm the kind of girl who can only take cities in small doses, and loves the thought of living on a farm, so the anecdotes about farm life in "Growing Girls" was very entertaining to me.
Knocked it down to 3 stars mainly because of the rough start to the book, and because I get terribly annoyed at books which jump around too much, and this one did. I felt like she was writing her inner monologue, which at times was entertaining, but other times it got so far off track that I forgot what she was talking about in the first place. But in the end, I liked it enough to go to the library and get out her first book (50 Acres and a Poodle), which I am reading now. I'm the kind of girl who can only take cities in small doses, and loves the thought of living on a farm, so the anecdotes about farm life in "Growing Girls" was very entertaining to me.
December 24, 2009
If I could give this book negative stars I would. I know I have only myself to blame for any pain I endured; a book about adoption that has the subtitle "The Mother of All Adventures" is pretty clearly labeled "Reader Beware".
The author returns again to her same, tired formula (Quirky country neighbors! Navel gazing! More quirkiness! Life threatening illness! Cutsey exchanges with husband and kids! More navel gazing!). This book also features her self-defensiveness over adopting children from China and her daughter's "charming" speech inpediment. Prepare yourself for major eye-rolling when she decides that the minimum wage Asian workers at her mall's mani-pedi salon are judging her adoption choices when the begin speaking to each other in an unknown Asian language. Somehow I think they have more important things to care about.
I'd bet money that many of these chapters are recycled newspaper columns too (one "chapter" was 1.5 pages long). I can't believe this woman keeps getting book contracts and column deals with newspapers as prestigious as the Washington Post.
The author returns again to her same, tired formula (Quirky country neighbors! Navel gazing! More quirkiness! Life threatening illness! Cutsey exchanges with husband and kids! More navel gazing!). This book also features her self-defensiveness over adopting children from China and her daughter's "charming" speech inpediment. Prepare yourself for major eye-rolling when she decides that the minimum wage Asian workers at her mall's mani-pedi salon are judging her adoption choices when the begin speaking to each other in an unknown Asian language. Somehow I think they have more important things to care about.
I'd bet money that many of these chapters are recycled newspaper columns too (one "chapter" was 1.5 pages long). I can't believe this woman keeps getting book contracts and column deals with newspapers as prestigious as the Washington Post.
February 16, 2014
This is a feel-good, laugh out loud at times, all around enjoyable read. The author struggles with self-doubt at some parenting decisions as I believe all good parents will at times. Her family seems healthy, happy and fulfilled. I'm sure the girls will go through teenage angst and perhaps resentment but that seems to be the norm for America's young seeking their own identities. I hope her daughters will never cease to believe that they are loved. If so, they should read this book.
I previously read Fifty Acres and A Poodle which is what prompted me to purchase this. I think the author is a wonderful story teller and I look forward to reading her other writings.
I previously read Fifty Acres and A Poodle which is what prompted me to purchase this. I think the author is a wonderful story teller and I look forward to reading her other writings.
September 24, 2012
The chapter involving white guilt and the Transracial Abduction website was hard to read because, holy shit, are you seriously not aware of baby trafficking? Do you seriously not understand why POC who were adopted by white people, regardless of whether it was a legitimate adoption or part of a creepy baby trafficking ring or what, might be a wee bit angry, depending on who parented them and how and what the area they grew up in was like and, you know, a whole shitload of other shit? Jesus christ.
April 13, 2009
A collection of essays on motherhood and life on a farm, Growing Girls was a great read--even if it was a slow start. Laskas has a way of describing the trials of motherhood that makes them both poignant and inconsequential at the same time. We can identify with the struggles of trying to get parenting "right" but at the same time realize that her love of her children trumps any mistakes she might make in decorating the valentine's cards or forgetting to bring the class game on party day. And if her love trumps her mistakes, so can ours for our own children.
January 6, 2012
I used to read Jeanne Marie Laskas' column in the Post, especially once I discovered she was an adoptive mom to Chinese daughters. This book felt like reading one delightful column after another, moving me from laughter to tears sometimes in the same page. Laskas writes about the daily stuff around parenthood and life with an engaging voice and she truly reminds me that I read to know I'm not alone -- especially when it comes to this motherhood business. I'm just jealous of that farm, and the horses....
February 13, 2009
Author shares her amazing story of motherhood and the adoption of two little baby girls from China. Heart-wrenching, yet comical, she tells how she & her husband raise these beautiful girls on a rural farm, rather than traditional suburbia. While she loves her daughters, she tries to find a balance in the guilt of taking them from their births mothers & homeland while understanding that they rescued them from a difficult, sad life in a Chinese orphanage.
June 17, 2009
I got this book from my sister Cathy bookcase.. It is a quirky memoir of a lady that adopts two children from China.. it is her struggles with being a parent, living on a farm and cultural issues of interracial adoptions.. I enjoyed the first half, yet now feel as if I have reached a standstill with it. It is very cute and funny underlying quotes and stories about raising two young girls. (2, 4, when the story opens.) I would recommend it to anyone that is a MOM!!
December 19, 2012
Devoured this one as well, her third memoir. LOVE her writing. It makes me laugh out loud. And there was so much in this specific book that spoke to me as a mom: having prison fantasies, for one. Hilarious.
I could tell, however, that this book was compiled from columns she's written for other sources, and that made the book not hang together as well. Plus, I never like the feeling that what I'm reading has been published somewhere else first. Like with Anne Lamott's recent nonfiction books.
I could tell, however, that this book was compiled from columns she's written for other sources, and that made the book not hang together as well. Plus, I never like the feeling that what I'm reading has been published somewhere else first. Like with Anne Lamott's recent nonfiction books.
November 20, 2007
Good book! I enjoyed Fifty Acres and a Poodle and it's the same style. There are pages I will be taking notes from to add to my own personal journal - her thoughts on motherhood need to be revisited!
January 17, 2008
The continuing story of "The Exact Same Moon" which is the continuing story of "Fifty Acres and a Poodle". This book is about the author and her husband raising their 2 adopted Chinese daughters. A very sweet story. It made me want to move to a farm.
March 12, 2008
This is a wonderful read....down to earth....honest, funny, sad.....A "can't put it down kinda book"....At least that was the case for me as a mother of two daughters (and a son). A fabulous memoir and I learned a thing or two about farm life!
August 7, 2010
I love her style of writing. It's like having a conversation with her or reading her journal. I also love her attitude toward being a mom, just loving those girls with all she has. I hope she writes another sequel! (See 50 Acres and a Poodle and The Exact Same Moon)
January 24, 2013
I love Jeanne Marie Laskas books. She has a very casual way of writing that makes me feel like I'm having a conversation with an old friend. In this case, we discussed farm animals and motherhood.
September 9, 2013
I have really enjoyed all of Jeanne's books including "Fifty Acres and a Poodle" and "The Exact Same Moon". I love following her adventure of loving on a farm and raising a not so typical family -- she inspires me to adopt children, and to raise chickens!
September 17, 2015
HILARIOUS!!! This is a book of short stories/vignettes about motherhood. And not just being a biological mother of a human, but being a mother of an animal, etc... Laskas is a great storyteller and made me laugh on more than one occasion.
November 5, 2007
I love Jeanne Marie Laskas's columns and books, and this is yet another wonderful collection of stories about her life and family.
September 8, 2008
This was a really sweet book.
June 9, 2008
A fun, light-hearted read.
December 6, 2008
I actually did not finish. I only read 20 pages and was BORED. So I quit.
February 25, 2009
As usual, I love her writing. She says the things I think. Of course I haven't had the gas pump experience yet. Hopefully never.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews