Lost in Suburbia, Tracy Beckerman ~ Book review

I was standing at the outskirts of a party at a blog conference last June. Part of me felt *thisclose* to heading up to bed, but the other part of me wanted to schmooze some more. 

There was this woman standing nearby and we started talking. 

I'm not quite sure what we said to one another, but I knew I liked her right away. 

This was before I knew she was such a riot. (Who uses that word? I sound like an old Jewish woman from Brooklyn! Oh, wait ...)

Seriously, though, she's pretty damned hilarious. 

It was also before I knew she was one of mah people. 

Sure, she's a mensch.  

mensch: person of integrity and honor ... hmmmn. 

She's also a NY/NJ girl. A mamalah after my own heart.

And I have the privilege of offering up a review for you. A review of her latest baby. 

Meet Tracy Beckerman. 

Tracy Beckerman was out of her element. She tells us her story in a "momoir" - what better way to describe her journey could there be?  Lost in Suburbia: A Momoir of How I Got Pregnant, Lost Myself, and Got My Cool Back in the New Jersey Suburbs is hilarious. 

From running around town in her bathrobe to battling the bulge, Tracy is someone I can relate to. Completely. Even if it scares me to say as much.

She walks us through pregnancy, sharing her understanding of the way our lives change after motherhood begins. With pricey haircuts, fancy lunches and sample sales, life before motherhood is a breeze. Compare it to stretch marks, under-eye circles, skimming french fries off your child's plate and shopping at strip malls and TJ Maxx and you'll wonder where you went wrong.

Letting us come along on the ride with her, Tracy has allowed us to laugh, SO hard. Laugh at her. Laugh at ourselves. Just plain laugh.

Some of my favorite parts of the book were so awesome I highlighted them so I could head back and share. I don't usually quote books in my reviews, it's not really my style, but for this one, I just had to. I feel like the words that best help you learn to love Tracy come from Tracy herself.

CHILDBIRTH:
* ... if you are one of those women who frowns upon using drugs to ease the pain of childbirth, go read another book * RIGHT!?!

MOTHERHOOD
* motherhood itself was exhausting. In a way, it was a lot like doing laundry. As soon as you get it done, you immediately have more to do, so you never really get a chance to feel good about the laundry you have just gotten done. * PREACH IT, SISTER!

BATHING SUIT SHOPPING
* When you're a baby and you have dimpled thighs, it is adorable. When you're the mother of the baby and you have the same dimpled thighs, it's not nearly as cute. * LET'S NOT GO THERE...

See? Don't you already love her?

Now look at how cute she is. I almost don't want to show you because you might think you can't like someone this cute - but I promise - you can and you WILL. And if you don't, it's okay, she'll tell you the secrets to finding your cool again and then you totally WILL!

Now, for the even better news ...

I am giving away a copy of Tracy's book! What? Yes! I know! Woo hoo!

If you want to win all you have to do to enter is leave me a comment here that shares what the title of your very own momoir would be. I don't care if it's 2-3 words or 10-20. Go for it. Nobody's watching. Well, I am, but so what?

You can also tweet, if you'd like, but leave me an extra comment with the URL of your tweet as your second entry! You can use this one if that makes it easier for you, because who has the time to come up with their own, right?

I'm hoping to win a copy of Lost In Suburbia by @TracyinSuburbia over @goodgirlgonered's place. You can enter, too: http://bit.ly/10yA0ZB  

Winner will be chosen one week from today via Random.org.

If you can't wait to test your luck and absolutely must buy your own copy, please do.

You can find Tracy at BN.com and Amazon, Books-A-Million or order your copy directly from Penguin.

It's totally worth it, I promise.

But I know you already believe me.

Because I'm good people and I have good people as friends. And I'm proud to call Tracy one of mine!

* I received a copy of this book to facilitate my review, and was offered the opportunity to give one copy to one of my readers. I'm delighted to do so, and all expressed opinions here in this post - especially the friendship and love-y ones - are strictly my own. *

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