Confessions of a Domestic Failure

by Bunmi Laditan

"Freaking hilarious. This is the novel moms have been waiting for."-Jenny Lawson, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Let's Pretend This Never Happened

"Perfect for readers looking for a funny, realistic look at motherhood."-Booklist (starred review)

From the creator of The Honest Toddler comes a fiction debut sure to be a must-read for moms everywhere.

There are good moms and bad moms-and then there are hot-mess moms. Introducing Ashley Keller, career girl turned stay-at-home mom who's trying to navigate the world of Pinterest-perfect, Facebook-fantastic and Instagram-impressive mommies but failing miserably.

When Ashley gets the opportunity to participate in the Motherhood Better boot camp run by the mommy-blog-empire maven she idolizes, she jumps at the chance to become the perfect mom she's always wanted to be. But will she fly high or flop?

With her razor-sharp wit and knack for finding the funny in everything, Bunmi Laditan creates a character as flawed and lovable as Bridget Jones or Becky Bloomwood while hilariously lambasting the societal pressures placed upon every new mother. At its heart, Ashley's story reminds moms that there's no way to be perfect, but many ways to be great.

• ISBN10: 1683245369
• ISBN13: 9781683245360
• Publish Date: 1 October 2017 (first published 1 May 2017)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 8 April 2024
• Imprint: Platinum Spotlight Series
• Edition: Large type / large print edition
• Format: Hardcover (Library Binding)
• Pages: 500
• Language: English

Reviews

[ibeforem]

I thought this was good, but it really rode the edge of too cringey for me. Ashley is a first-time mom who is struggling like a lot of first-time moms. She doesn't know who she is anymore, she feels like she can't get a handle on routine household tasks, she feels inferior to her sister (also a first-time mom), not to mention the pressure of all the "perfect" moms out in the world and on the internet. So when she sees the chance to learn from the ultimate Perfect Mom, she jumps on it.

As Ashley's failures multiplied, I could feel my shoulders pulling further and further up towards my ears. I don't do well with second-hand embarrassment, and I wanted to scream at her several times. But at the same time, Ashley's struggles are very relatable. Many women feel the pressure to breast feed, don't know how to feed their growing child, have trouble finding the time to take care of themselves, can't figure out how to fill the day yet always run out of time.

Overall, I was satisfied when I reached the end of the book, and found the ending to be both fulfilling and redeeming. But the avalanche of failures throughout the book are hard to forget.

[lovelybookshelf]

Laditan's fiction debut about a mother struggling with self-judgment and impossible expectations is part social commentary and a whole lot of slapstick comedy. The synopsis calls the main character a "hot mess" and wow, that portrayal is over the top. The humor wore down quickly, like a joke that would.not.end. I almost DNF'd halfway though, but then the story started moving and I enjoyed it to the end. Fun read when you're craving brain candy.