title: The Imperfect Mom: Candid Confessions of Mothers Living in the Real World
author: Therese J. Borchard
description: Deftly dismantling the myth of the supermom, "The Imperfect Mom is a candid look at the common pitfalls and perils of parenting. In engaging original essays, award-winning novelists, famous columnists, and bestselling authors share the missteps, confusion, and careless mistakes of their child-raising years. From lighthearted anecdotes to recollections of near tragedies, their stories capture the swing of emotions and the unanticipated challenges every mother experiences. <br />Gail Belsky, the former executive editor of "Working Mother, writes about the emotional conflicts that led to the secret circumcision of her son; veteran journalist Judith Newman recounts the hair-raising event that sent her and her twins to the emergency room; popular author Andrea Buchanan describes how a pile of dirty laundry saved her son from serious injury; and award-winning novelist Caroline Leavitt tells how her own brush with death during the first year of her son's life affected both mother and child. Other writers discuss the demanding day-to-day routines and the personality "flaws" that undermined their attempts to be the perfect mom. Jacquelyn Mitchard, for example, divulges that she was expelled from her neighborhood carpool for showing up late one too many times. And Ayun Halliday confesses to her addiction to the catfights that would unfold on the discussion boards of a parenting Web site. <br />A compassionate testimony to parents who don't always have it all figured out, "The Imperfect Mom portrays universal feelings of maternal doubt, inadequacy, guilt, and ambivalence-and the incomparable joys of mothering that override them all.
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  Wake Up
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  2
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Forgiveness!!!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  By
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Mary Mag-Dalene
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Copyright November 1, 2011
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  By Mary Mag-Dalene Maxion
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Mae Mae Publishing
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ISBN: 978-0-615-57068-6
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  All rights reserved
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  No portion of this publication may be copied, reproduced or stored in a
  retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic,
  mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written
  permission from the author and publisher.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  This is a true biography based on the real-life events of my real momma. All
  the names and some events have been changed to protect everyone’s identity.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Second edition by: Mary Mag-dalene on June 1, 2012
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Third edition by: Mary Mag-Dalene on June 1, 2018
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Photography by: John Bates
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  www.jbates3@gmail.com
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  DEDICATION
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  This b