This work reads as if it were an extended Parents
magazine article, and for good reason: Pleshette Murphy was the magazine's editor-in-chief for 10-plus years and is Good Morning America
's parenting contributor. Incorporating the magazine's informal tone, interview style and abundance of expert opinions, she plumbs the world of motherhood from labor to toddlerhood and the teen years. Pleshette Murphy focuses not on the child but on the mother's "developmental needs at each stage of [her] child's life." She writes, " 'Knowing thyself' is never more critical than when those two little stripes of pink show up in the plastic window." With such impeccable credentials, one would expect Pleshette Murphy to be the ideal mother. Reassuringly, she isn't shy about revealing her own experiences—and occasional incompetence—as a parent to dispel the notion of the perfect mom. Some of the information is tired, her sections on working mothers feels defensive and she assumes parents can afford assistance, but these are minor faults. The calming tone,plus the fact that Pleshette Murphy not only survived motherhood, but raised two well-adjusted children, make this a comforting book for uncertain mothers. Agent, Kathy Robbins. (Sept. 7)
Forecast:
A first serial in
Family Circle and a 10-city author tour could help this book sell out its 100,000-copy first printing.
