This comfortable recounting by the Emmy-winning Everybody Loves Raymond
co-star sustains a nice mix of wisecracks and sincerity that's sure to appeal to viewers of the television show and underappreciated moms. In tidily constructed chapters, divided into sections representing the three cities she's lived in, Heaton recounts her happy childhood in Cleveland, her adventures in New York and her attempts to sustain an average life with four children and a husband in Los Angeles. Particularly authentic are her takes on motherhood: "[A]s much as we'd like to believe otherwise, we're all going to be forgotten somewhere down the line. We'll certainly be forgotten by the world, and eventually by our own families. I mean, who can name their great-great-great grandmother?" The occasional lists, such as her "I Confess Top 20" ("#12: I add MSG to everything"; "#16: I throw away my kids' art projects almost immediately"), are amusing. Heaton's discussion of more weighty subjects, such as religion—she tells of her move from Roman Catholicism to tacitly more socially acceptable Presbyterianism—is predictable. Heaton has penned a worthy book, and her playful and positive attitude shine through. Agent, Mort Janklow. (On sale Sept. 17)
