Monday, May 3, 2010

JUST LET ME LIE DOWN: REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY

GIVEAWAY ENDED
JUST LET ME LIE DOWN

Necessary Terms for the Half-Insane Working Mom
BY KRISTIN VAN OGTROP

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Kristin van Ogtrop knows she's lucky--fulfilling career, great husband, three healthy kids, and, depending on the hamster count, an impressive roster of pets. She also knows she is tired. Always. Using stories and insights from her own life, she provides a lexicon for the half-insane working mom. Anyone who has left a meeting to race to the Halloween parade immediately understands van Ogtrop's definition of "Kill the messenger" as "The action you must take in order to forget about the office for a time--that is, to remove your Blackberry/Treo/iPhone/whatever from your person and store it as far away as your neurotic self will allow." Filled with essays, lists, and resonant observations, JUST LET ME LIE DOWN establishes van Ogtrop as the Erma Bombeck of the new millennium.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Kristin van Ogtrop is the editor of Real Simple magazine and has held positions at Glamour, Vogue, Travel & Leisure, and Premiere. She lives outside New York City with her family.

Audio and Video



REVIEW:

JUST LET ME LIE DOWN by Kristin van Ogtrop is a charming and understanding look at the trials and tribulations that working moms face on a daily basis. Kristin, herself, is a busy mother of three with a career and a loving partner. All that is fantastic but also means she is usually dead tired and looking for a moment’s peace, like any other working mom. Even the best of us needs to be real and understand that they need a breather from time to time; thus the title, a little time to just “lie down”.

The book discusses the realities of being a working mom, including all the efforts and anxieties, from tears to joys, from sacrifices to accomplishments, that are all part of the incredible privilege of being a mother. Kristin van Ogtrop uses examples from her own life, both professional and personal, to produce cleverly written terms that all working moms will be able to relate to and probably find themselves using in their daily routine. The terms are like a working mom’s dictionary. In it, she includes the good, the bad, and the ugly of parenting, marriage, and work and gives them all a name. The format of the book is well organized and easy to follow. The sections can even be read out of order and each one is just a few pages long so a busy mom can sneak in a minute here or there to read parts of it, OR take some much needed time for herself to read it in one sitting.


If you get nothing from the book but the permission to give yourself some alone or down time, then you have understood van Ogtrop’s point. Mothers all need to love themselves as well as their families, just as Kristin van Ogtrop does. If JUST LET ME LIE DOWN gives readers a chance to laugh and relate and realize that there is no guilt in thinking of yourself first, even just once in a while, then it is well worth the price and time to read it.


GIVEAWAY

THANKS TO ANNA AND THE
HACHETTE BOOK GROUP, I HAVE
THREE COPIES OF THIS CHARMING
BOOK
TO GIVEAWAY!


--U.S. AND CANADIAN RESIDENTS ONLY
--NO P. O. BOXES
---INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS
IN CASE YOU WIN!
--ALL COMMENTS MUST BE SEPARATE TO
COUNT AS MORE THAN ONE!

HOW TO ENTER:

+1 ENTRY: COMMENT ON SOMETHING YOU ENJOYED OR FOUND INTERESTING IN THIS REVIEW, OR IN THE BOOK DESCRIPTION

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+1 MORE ENTRY: SHARE ABOUT THIS GIVEAWAY ON FACEBOOK AND COME BACK AND LEAVE A LINK SO I CAN FOLLOW TO FIND IT. PLEASE DO THIS ONLY ONCE!

GIVEAWAY ENDS AT
6 PM, EST, May 22

29 comments:

debbie said...

I can relate to the mom's viewpoint of being exhausted and trying to accomplish everything.
twoofakind12@yahoo.com

Vera said...

Sounds like a very realistic look at juggling work with motherhood. From your review, it sounds like the author is very honest about her experience and perhaps a bit funny in writing about them? I look forward to reading this one!

vvperesk@gmail.com

traveler said...

Thanks for this giveaway. It sounds like a very interesting and comprehensive book which explains her dilemma being a working mom and having so little time for herself and being constantly tired out. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com

g.g. said...

Sounds interesting that they call her the new Erma Bombeck as that is quite a compliment so she must have a funny book

anjamie4 AT gmail DOT com

Teresa said...

I am so relieved to have someone put it out there, we can't do it all! We sure do try. I think I can relate to what she's saying. I am looking forward to reading this one.

teresasreadingcorner at gmail dot com

degood said...

I like that this book can be read in little sections instead of all at once. If I have to read a book from cover to cover, I rarely finish it but if I can read bits and pieces I am more likely to enjoy the whole thing.
kerrie@mayansfamily.com

SueFitz said...

It's always intersting to find out how people cope with work and personal life - especally when a mother.

suefitz(at)yahoo(dot)com

Anonymous said...

She's very accomplished having worked with so many great Magazines.

chirth7@yahoo.com

Anonymous said...

Tweet: http://twitter.com/Romantic73/status/13675226326

chirth7@yahoo.com

Anonymous said...

Posted on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/profile.php?id=100000641625482&v=wall&story_fbid=121413024545260

chirth7@yahoo.com

Anonymous said...

I'd like to win this book for my best friend who who had her first child 3 yerars ago, she is a working Mom and now single doing it all by herself.
The book talks about the realities of being a working mom, including all the efforts and anxieties, from tears to joys, from sacrifices to accomplishments, that are all part of the incredible privilege of being a mother.
I think she'd like this book.

chirth7@yahoo.com

Anonymous said...

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/profile.php?id=100000641625482&v=wall&story_fbid=121413024545260&ref=mf

chirth7@yahoo.com

Anonymous said...

http://twitter.com/Romantic73/status/13676487183

chirth7@yahoo.com

MRWriter said...

I like that she draws from her own personal experiences.
AlexDean03@yahoo.com

Debbie F said...

I can totally relate. I also have 3 children and they can be overwhelming! Would love to read this! Thanks for the opportunity!

dcf_beth at verizon dot net

Misusedinnocence said...

This sounds wonderful, and is a book I can clearly relate too. lol I'm always exhausted.

misusedinnocence@aol.com

holdenj said...

I like that she draws from her own life and can find the humor in a lot of situations.
JHolden955(at)gmail(dot)com

Kim said...

I like how the sections can be read out of order!

Pamela Keener said...

She sounds like an upfront person who manages the best way she knows.
Love & Hugs,
Pam
pk4290(at)comcast(dot)net

Shirley said...

http://twitter.com/Grandmamaof10/status/14164122552

shundelt@yahoo.com

Shirley said...

I'd like this book because having raised 3 kids and some grand children I knkow I'll love this book. I've been trying to win it on another site but didn't.

shundelt@yahoo.com

Shirley said...

Posted on facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/profile.php?id=100001087052807&v=wall&story_fbid=127664190582182

shundelt@yahoo.com

Wendi P said...

I cannot wait to learn more about not feeling guilty for putting myself first. This is a hard one for me to overcome.

catss99 said...

I really like true life comical books, especially those that are more in essay form, as your review said this one was. I would probably give this as a gift to my best friend, who has two kids and is exhausted.
catss99@yahoo.com

catss99 said...

tweet
http://twitter.com/catss99/status/14247216677
catss99@yahoo.com

Jolee said...

Love and am intrigued by the description as Erma Bombeck of the New Century. Thanks! joleehamlin at comcast dot net

Unknown said...

I liked that it said to give ourselves permission to have some down time or time away from our kids and families.

Please enter me in the giveaway,
copperpenny12(at)hotmail(dot)com

Suburban prep said...

I can agree with her in that I am always tired.
While I do not have children of my own I do tend to my nieces and nephews quite a bit and they are all under the age of 10.

smgb245 at gmail dot com

petite said...

The author's views of being a mother and constantly being tired are real and valid. This feeling never seems to end nor improve until the kids are older and able to manage more themselves. Her humor is amazing. rojosho(at)hotmail(dot)com

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