Some moms make it seem so easy: a perfect parent, perfect children, and plenty of time for cute crafts with lace & buttons. They blog perfect pictures of their perfect home and their perfect life.
Then there’s the rest of us.
This is exactly where Jenny Schoberl blogs. The ugly times, the less-than stellar parenting moments, the highs and definitely the lows; Schoberl blogs her everyday life with a blunt honesty and vulgar sense of humor.
Schoberl’s first book Musings of a 20-something Mom and the Perils of being a Mommy Blogger has the same raw, unedited feel of her blog, Holdin’ Holden, which earned her over 38,000 fans. A sort of Blog-oir, Musings is a humorous memoir for her blog, and is a collection of her early posts from her first pregnancy (written postpartum) through the medical struggles of her second child.
Because the book is self-published, it does tend to veer off course from time to time and is sprinkled with a few typos. Musings reads almost like a cathartic purging of her experiences of her tumultuous relationship with her blog rather than a polished product. But it is quickly made clear that “polished” just isn’t Jenny Schoberl.
Author and Blogger Jenny Schoberl
While the majority of her book is focused on her family, in a fascinating turn, Schoberl, exposes the dark underbelly of the mommy-driven internet world: mommy message boards and Facebook friends gone wrong; Jenny Schoberl finds herself sinking into a bottomless pit of nasty, opinionated cyber-bullies, once posing as supportive friends.
The blog that started it all, Holdin’ Holden, is still active and I highly recommend a quick read before picking up this book. Those of us used to our flowery mommy blogs may find it hard to adjust to f-bombs and crotch talk. And while you won’t find a sugary coating on her blog or in her book, there is real honesty and heart in Jenny’s writing. As she chronicles blogging pit-falls and mistakes, you do find yourself rooting for this unconventional protagonist.
Not for the faint of heart, Musings is a breath of fresh air to those craving a little crass mommy humor in their lives.
Jenny Schoberl will be promoting her book with a reading and book signing at Chop Suey in Carytown August, 3rd from 3:00-5:00 pm.
