BOOKS: Babyproofing Your Marriage

"Required Reading..."

Babyproofing Your Marriage:

How to Laugh More, Argue Less,
and Communicate Better as Your Family Grows
By Stacie Cockrell, Cathy O’Neill, and Julia Stone
(Collins, January 2007)

Rebel Review based on Advance Reader's Edition from HarperCollins
BABYPROOFING is available 1.23.2007 -- see Pub Notes below for more info

“The baby’s great and all, but when are things going to get back to normal around here? When will my wife stop the control freak stuff? When will she be nicer to me and remember I exist? And tell me this: will I ever again have a Saturday morning to myself without being made to feel guilty?” -- Spencer, married 6 years, 2 kids
[from BABYPROOFING,Chapter 2: Baby...Boom! Welcome to the Foxhole]

Finally, an Owner’s Manual: a down-to-earth, honest, realistic guidebook for this tricky business of marriage and parenting! Yes, Spencer, BABYPROOFING authors Cockrell, O’Neill & Stone reassure us there is indeed Life After Baby(ies) (maybe even S-E-X!), but it ain’t easy, the happily-ever-after stuff.

Married 18 years, with 3 children, I couldn’t imagine what might be in this book for me, but I really enjoyed BABYPROOFING. Even after all these years, the anecdotal experiences, interviews, and advice gathered from hundreds of true experts (parents in the trenches, and beyond) are validating, encouraging, and entertaining. One of the most reassuring things to know (even after 18 years): You are not alone. Everybody else’s marriage and early parenting challenges look very much the same.

BABYPROOFING is not clinical blah blah blah, with unrealistic expectations, recommendations, and (yet more) things you should be doing...BABYPROOFING is more like a conversation among friends; conversations and support we often miss or don’t have time for in Real Life, especially with the demands of a new baby and lack of sleep clouding your reality. The authors even offer both points of view, with a consistent format of “He said, She said” and straightforward advice for both on all issues (which makes for a very interesting chapter on sex).

Even if you’ve “been there, done that,” BABYPROOFING is a wonderful gift for friends and family just embarking on the journey. It should be required reading, with so much valuable, potentially marriage-saving information and humor.

Publication Notes from HarperCollins:
BABYPROOFING is available 1.23.2007
The authors will be on the TODAY show 1.23.2007
Visit the website for more info & discussion boards:
www.babyproofingyourmarriage.com
Even MORE information & BABYPROOFING contest info at:
www.harpercollins.com
[Can I just say...I want to be published by HarperCollins?! This is amazing!! ;-)]