You Know I Love You Because You're Still Alive - Confessions of a Middle Aged Working Mom

I really found very little humor in this book. To be honest I couldn't get past the second chapter. I have raised 5 of my own children and the pride I have in them is in my heart and my mind. If I speak of it, it is to them. I really can't abide someone who bores everyone around her with "my son is better than yours" tales. Sorry, its just not my kind of book.

I was enjoying this book, getting a chuckle out of the stories and misadventures of Mrs. Duff's family. I liked her light and breezy writing style. It was easy to read and entertaining. Then I reached the section where she went on a rant about people who are always late, including her husband and daughter. After that I did something extremely rare for me, I didn't finish the book.

Perhaps I'm not being objective, as someone who shares the same challenges, but the tone of this section was less humorous and more condemning and judgmental than it needed to be. There's plenty of humor to be extracted from chronic tardiness, and I wish she had stayed focused on that.

It took me until middle age to discover that my losing battle for timeliness was a symptom of ADHD, a condition that affects many areas of my life. I went undiagnosed for so long because I don't have the classic fidgetiness, and I am able to perform well in the classroom. I had already deducted from earlier chapters that half of the authors family had ADHD (it is hereditary) but clearly she hasn't.

I have to believe that if she had, she wouldn't have attacked them so viciously over a symptom of their handicap. For example "Frankly, I think this is not so much of a preference thing as a moral issue, and I am here to condemn half of my family..." She was right when she said near the end of the chapter that their brains must work differently than hers. They do. And they can't change that. It's neither preference nor poor morals.

I understand her desire for her family members to behave differently. I struggled for years to "do better" and to "fix myself." Now I at least know why I can't, and can focus on acceptance and finding workarounds. Perhaps I should thank Mrs. Duff, because I also now know in aggressive detail how some people view one symptom of my condition.

I'm pretty sure if someone in her family was crippled she wouldn't have written an entire chapter berating and bullying them for not being able to walk like everyone else. I think she owes them an apology for the public ridicule, and I think the loving and smart lady that she is will give them one.

What an awful bunch of garbage. "I went to a cheap hotel and it was nasty, so I went to the Holiday Inn instead" isn't a funny story, but it is literally the first story in this book. The others are no better.
I got it for free and I feel like I was ripped off.

Let me start by admitting that I’m part of the boxless faction with an innate sense of direction. And dodging girls who want to ‘thread’ my eyebrows is a regular occurrence -- even if I’m not getting my toenails done.

Lori Duff has a wonderfully eclectic collection of essays that any mom or reader familiar with juggling the pressures of family, career and a contrary spouse would understand. I’m not a parent myself but I found that her funny insights into parenting and surviving life’s daily challenges made for an engaging read.
Her writing style reminds me of comedian Sarah Millican’s books.
I liked the “my personal summer” essay best. As a woman of a certain age -- I can totally relate. This is a book that many readers will see shades of their own lives in-- in all of its humorous and sometimes infamous glory. I know that I did.

Great humor--I laughed so much with the story about being a chaperone on a band trip that I had to share it right away with my wife (we had done a similar trip when our son was in band--it really hit home!)
Everyone can empathize with the stories, even if they have never had a similar experience. The incidents are totally believable.

Funny and holds your interest. Working moms and Jewish moms will completely relate and occasionally LOL. How she finds the time for all she does is a question, but then looking back I have no idea how I did a doctorate and raised teens. Guess we all do what we gotta do.

Again, Lori B. Duff proves that she has a funny, funny take on life. But her short essays about the way things are, in a family with a working mother, a retired (but hardly retiring!) father, and two teenage children, are more than just hilarious. They're also honest, down-to-earth, kind, penetrating, thought-provoking, and, yes, loving.

I got to see the Advance copy of this book in return for an honest review. And my reviews are ALWAYS honest!

Mrs. Duff has again come through - finding the humor in the things that drive us all nuts. What a wonderful life to truly find the grace to laugh at yourself first. Of course, then there is everyone else. A true delight!

Okay, now that I have your attention, listen up. Don't not drink large quantities of coffee while you are reading this book, as you may have to spit them out in laughter. Duff's take on the world is all the more side splitting because everyone can relate. In between bouts of guffaws, you'll You sit there shaking your head, "uh huh." Treat yourself to some time in laugher land. You can't go wrong.

If you are a mum this is a book you will connect with. I picked this book out of curiosity but wasn't sure I would complete it. However, reading it made me laugh and I really connected with most things in the book. Sometimes I thought it was my life being talked about! Lori has just the right amount of humour and wit with a unique style of conveying her thoughts to the reader. A must read!