Books
“Reads like a sarcastic Bridget Jones-meets-real-life-motherhood in the USA, imbued with humor, love, and angst.” —BabyZone Magazine
“Funny and well-written. The world has been in need of a maternal humorist since Erma Bombeck died.” . . .” —Lulu.com Radio
Click here to read the first chapter
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Synopsis
Take a woman fresh out of college, plop her down in the Silicon Valley, saddle her with a mortgage, let her ride the tech boom, give her three babies in four years, slap her with the tech bust, watch vicariously as her marriage disintegrates, end her career, and hand her a computer. What do you get?
Mommy Confidential: Adventures from the Wonderbelly of Motherhood is a naked, brutally funny, endearingly honest chronicle of family life beset by disaster on many fronts. Mindy keeps her family together through catastrophic illness, four bouts of postpartum depression, financial peril, familial Waterloo, and job instability. All through it her sense of humor and her sharp, edgy, witty writing keeps her together and upright.
Reading the book is like sitting down with a close girlfriend over a cup of coffee (or, in some parts of the book, over a half dozen or so margaritas) and dishing, truly dishing, no-holds-barred (okay some barred) about our lives. From snarkiness to laughter, to melancholy and fear, and back again, Mindy provides a treat here that makes for a compulsive read. To me, reading these entries altogether, one after the other, is like having a new king-sized can of Pringles sitting on the counter next to you. And eating the entire thing.
Her book is personal. Her book is universal. And it’s real.
–Meridith O’Brien of The Boston Mommy Blog
I LOVED this book. I have read it several times since Hubby purchased an autographed copy directly from Mindy for Christmas 2006. She is honest and funny… has been through all the things we have been and isn’t afraid to share her fears, frustrations or spontaneous combustion! Hubby sits beside my bubble bath some nights and is frequently found looking at me oddly, wondering what the heck is so funny. Sometimes I share.
–Jamie L. Ervin
Remember Nora Ephron’s Heartburn? Years ago that book taught me how to make it through life’s crises with a sense of humor. Working mom Mindy Roberts updates the concept of laughing until your ribs hurt through financial dips, health scares, and of course, heartbreak.
–ReaderGrrl
This refreshingly real account of Mindy’s adventures with life is like a long chat with a girlfriend. Ms. Roberts’ book is honest, real, funny and sometimes heartwrenching; however, always a delight. She doesn’t let the trials and tribulations ruin her sense of humor as she conquers motherhood was grace and style.
–Joy M. Hall
I came upon Melinda Robert’s wonderful and whimsical book during one of those dark moments all of us mothers have. Both in her book and in her blog, the author gently reminds us not to take ourselves too seriously. I have given her book as a gift to so many mom friends. I promise this “memoir of sorts” (don’t you love that sub subtitle?!) will lighten your days. Happy reading!
L. Matison
Reading Melinda Roberts’ new book, Mommy Confidential: Adventures of the Wonderbelly of Motherhood, is like spending an evening with your best girlfriends. I’m probably one of the few people (in the universe) who has not read her blog, but I’m so glad I ordered this book. It is fun, it is invigorating, and it is packed with brutal honesty.
What’s so unique about Roberts’ book is that many of the events she records are written about within minutes of them happening — so we get to experience the ups and downs of life with small children as she does. Her nearly daily entries reveal the truly tender, life-altering, and heartbreaking moments of motherhood in a way that no other book on the subject does.
And Roberts is not just funny ha-ha. She is I-can’t-breathe-I’m-laughing-so-hard funny. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that she either turns this book into a stand-up comedy routine and takes it on the road, or that she comes out with a sequel. Regardless, I’ll be keeping up with her future adventures on her blog.
A. Sydow
When I was first starting my own blog, I stumbled across the wonderful world of Mommy Bloggers. It was like this wonderful block party. Only it was on the Internet. So I emailed many of these bloggers, asking, shyly, if I could be invited to the party. So many of them responded with a hearty, “Yes, and bring the cocktails.” And one of the first ones to welcome me with open arms was Melinda Roberts, proprietor of The Mommy Blog.
Melinda has a loyal, snarky following, which goes with her slightly snarky blog about her life, her kids, her ex, her gourmet-cooking boyfriend. But her blog is also warm and poignant, too, as it started as a way for her to make sense of her son’s life-threatening illness early in her life. Thankfully, that son is now a healthy child who drives her somewhat crazy — as all healthy children should do to their mothers. But the blog, thankfully, has blossomed and grown. In fact, I’m happy to say that it’s blossomed and grown into a real live BOOK.
MOMMY CONFIDENTIAL: Adventures From the Wonderbelly of Motherhood, is that book. It’s just as warm, witty and yes, wonderfully snarky, as her blog. I can’t imagine having gone through what she has while still retaining my sense of humor. But she certainly has, and I recommend her book to everyone looking for a laugh, a cry, a warm fuzzy feeling - and an excuse to go gross out your children by smothering them with sloppy hugs and kisses.
So go read Mindy’s blog, and buy her book. You’ll be glad you did.
Melanie Lynne Hauser
Mommy Confidential: Adventures from the Wonderbelly of Motherhood by Melinda Roberts is a witty, heart-breaking, and real-life chronicle of a young divorced mother of three in Silicon Valley. Her fast-crack wit will give you a benevolent case of whiplash as she moves through her days of chaos, calamity, and cuddling with her kids. Her irreverent and unapologetic take on motherhood is refreshing, making it stand out from other, perhaps more polished diatribes on contemporary parenting. The rough and tumble of raising boys is also evident, yet there is always an undercurrent of unshakable love for the tykes who call Mindy “Mom”. The reader accompanies the author’s journey over several years: from daughter Daisy’s first steps to her trying to save her brother from ‘certain death’ on the floor. High drama and deep belly laughs are guaranteed from this first-time author. I look forward to reading the sequel!
–Christine Louise Hohlbaum, author of DIARY OF A MOTHER and SAHM I AM: TALES OF A STAY-AT-HOME MOM IN EUROPE