Written in short chapters that busy mothers can enjoy, "When Did I Get Like This?" is a funny, endearing celebration of the modern mother's quest t...
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May 23, 2011
Laura
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I think When Did I Get Like This? was written for me. As a mother of three children ages five and under, it more than warms my heart to read this book in which Amy Wilson really understands the struggles of everyday life as a mother. There are so many moments as a mother that I feel that I’m alone, but this book let me know that there is someone else out there who is going through some of the same things. As the blurb on the back of the book states, “Over the last seven years of long days with
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May 14, 2011
Lara
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Every single day of my life, for the past 10.5 years, I have second-guessed myself, worried that I'm not good enough and wondered how anyone could have entrusted me with a baby or a toddler or a tween or two or three of them. Every day as I hear things I thought I would never say come out of my mouth ("Get off the roof!" "You brushed your teeth? Are you sure? Come here so I can smell your breath." "No, we do not put cheese in the DVD player!") I wonder who the wo
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Apr 20, 2011
Molly
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Absolutely awesome! I loved this book. It wasn't fiction. Nope, nothing like fiction work. BUT, I still LOVED it. It was exactly what I needed to read. Having two young boys myself, and often, feeling the same way that Amy Wilson has felt, I knew that I needed to read this, whether it was fiction or not. And, after reading it, I am pleased to say that Amy Wilson hit so many things head on that I am HIGHLY, HIGHLY recommending this book to all new mothers, and mothers of young children. It will l
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Jun 02, 2010
Kelsey
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This book couldn't have fallen into my hands at a more perfect (or perfectly miserable) time. I've been going through what I hope is just the "terrible twos" with my son. I say hope because I quietly pray that this is "only a phase," and that his newly blossomed maddening temperment isn't an indication of the person he's turning out to be. I guess I just never realized how terrible these twos could be. And when you find yourself in tears just as often as your tiny compani
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May 12, 2010
Anna
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Hmmm, what to say about this book. It was a really easy read. Fast. I liked it because I definitely recognized myself and I LOVED that she was so honest about parenting, she mentioned both things where she feels like she messed up and things that she did really well. She made me feel better about myself as a parent (knowing I am not alone). On the other hand there were a lot of things that were a bit cliched and completely outside of my, and I think most other mothers, scope. The whole NY mother
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Jun 13, 2011
Heidi
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Author Amy Wilson, Manhattan resident and mother of three, wrote this memoir after observing the changes in herself that motherhood brought. Parts of it were absolutely hilarious and I so remembered some of those feelings of early motherhood, which were kind of scary to remember now that baby number 4 is on the way for us (!), but other parts were so far beyond my experience I had a tough time relating, like when she describes the ridiculous world of high-stakes preschool enrollment for her sti
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Sep 26, 2010
Stacy
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Very, very, very, very funny. Amy Wilson is a sometimes employed actress that has three children pretty close together. Her experiences with child rearing in downtown Manhattan are obviously different than most of ours but so hilarious you can still relate. I loved her account of trying to get her son into an exclusive preschool. She and her husband had to start the interview process when he just began walking. If you were going to write a humorous book about motherhood, this would be the o
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Jan 31, 2011
Jamie
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As a memoir about a young mother of three, this is the first book that has spoken to me so well in a long while. Amy Wilson acknowledges and gives voice to all the self-doubt, the struggles, and the craziness that inevitably come with raising young children, with a humor and an optimism that keeps me happy to be going through it all. The sweet ending really earned this book a place among my favorites. While I will admit this book is not for everyone (I read some aloud to my oldest son and he
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May 09, 2011
Mandy
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For the full review go to WellReadWife.com.
Amy Wilson, author of When Did I Get Like This? The Screamer, the Worrier, the Dinosaur-Chicken-Nugget-Buyer, and Other Mothers I Swore I’d Never Be, had me at dinosaur-chicken-nugget-buyer. I knew instinctively, from those four well-chosen words, before I ever opened the book that this woman speaks my language. Because, as a frequent server of those funny shaped nuggets myself, I assumed this would not be a preachy book about how to be the pe More...
Amy Wilson, author of When Did I Get Like This? The Screamer, the Worrier, the Dinosaur-Chicken-Nugget-Buyer, and Other Mothers I Swore I’d Never Be, had me at dinosaur-chicken-nugget-buyer. I knew instinctively, from those four well-chosen words, before I ever opened the book that this woman speaks my language. Because, as a frequent server of those funny shaped nuggets myself, I assumed this would not be a preachy book about how to be the pe More...
Jul 30, 2011
Jennifer
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My dad bought this book for me. He has this tendency to buy any book that catches his eye, and I believe the mention of chicken nuggets on the cover made him think of my kids because if they had the chance they’d eat chicken nuggets every single day.
There is little that I have in common with the author. I’ve never been to New York City; instead I live a “simpler” life in a small town in the Mid-west. Yet I am the mother of four children so I could relate to her and the essence of her ex More...
There is little that I have in common with the author. I’ve never been to New York City; instead I live a “simpler” life in a small town in the Mid-west. Yet I am the mother of four children so I could relate to her and the essence of her ex More...
May 31, 2010
Nicole
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Anna's review below says pretty much how I felt about this book... It was cute, especially the chapter on "Mommy and Me" classes, but not life-altering or thought-provoking. The author's kids are 6, 4, and 1, while my three are all a decade older. Maybe that is one reason I thought this book was kind of "fluff": because it's been a while since I had a sleepless night or had to board a plane with 3 small children. (I'm in the throes of the teen years, which is just as harr
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Jan 15, 2012
Angela
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So far..this book could literally be about me as a parent. Hilarious
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May 20, 2011
Terina
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Wow, really debated on whether this was a 3 or 4 star. It is a great book for moms to read and understand that we are not alone. We all have these struggles while trying to raise our children and often feel like we are failing somehow. She puts everything right out there and I think that most stay at home moms will really relate to the frustrations of being a SAHM. She is lucky enough to have a babysitter with her often which must be nice. There are a lot of fun and interesting stories but a lot
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Feb 22, 2012
carissa
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Over the last seven years of long days with little children, I have had many moments of joy, calm, and peaceful reverie.
This book is about the other moments.
Before I became a mother, failing at something did not shake my fundamental belief in my capabilities as a human being. But now that I am the mother of three children under the age of seven, I have one overriding daily thought: I suck at this.
What kind of mother feeds her kids dinosaur chicken nuggets? More...
This book is about the other moments.
Before I became a mother, failing at something did not shake my fundamental belief in my capabilities as a human being. But now that I am the mother of three children under the age of seven, I have one overriding daily thought: I suck at this.
What kind of mother feeds her kids dinosaur chicken nuggets? More...
May 09, 2011
Amy
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While I can't identify with the NYC "more-than-comfortable" lifestyle of the author, I found plenty of moments while reading this book where I breathed a sigh of relief, nodded in recognition or laughed aloud at a particularly well-crafted retelling of classic Mommy moments. Amy Wilson's humor and writing style are so appealing that I can imagine reading this for entertainment alone, did I not have two young children of my own. Part entertainment, part education, part breath of fresh
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Sep 14, 2010
Stephanie
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FINALLY, a memoir about motherhood that isn't tinged with tales of depression and bitterness! Honestly, I've been starting to think no one could write a hilarious, non-judgemental book about being a mom. Amy Wilson is my mommy twin and if we could just change the names of the kids in this book (and maybe a few other details), this would be my life. Highly recommended to anyone struggling with the trials of raising toddler/grade school age kids and looking for a little reassurance as well as a
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Dec 13, 2010
Cindy
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Feb 04, 2011
Noramk2
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I had high hopes for this book and was disappointed. It was not at all "hilarious." More like mildly entertaining. Most of the author's "bad mom" moments were barely a blip on the "bad mom" scale. It was also hard to relate to her NYC lifestyle where toddlers interview for preschool and other "problems" that moms in the big city face. She seems to have taken views of motherhood to an extreme and most of the "mothers she swore she'd never be" are
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Feb 02, 2011
Krista
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There were parts of this book I could really identify with, but others not so much. She lives in NYC and has a babysitter to help her with the 3 kids too. The husband/Dad in the family doesn't hold up his end very well in her accounts. I half expected to find an apology to him in the acknowledgments at the end, but no. Also wonder what her kids will think if they read this when they grow up. I'd be curious what the author's status is in about 5 years (kids, marriage, career, etc.)
Apr 29, 2010
Megan
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I'm guessing there are lots of books out there like this one, but it is the first of this kind that I have read and I've got to say I really laughed. It was almost uncanny how much I related to the author's experiences as a mother. With a few exceptions I would say I have thought/felt/experienced a majority of what the author describes. The difference is she has the talent (and time/babysitter/money, apparently) to write about it.
Jan 06, 2011
Leah
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It is more like 2.5 stars. I really disliked everything except the last 3 or 4 chapters. I am not a NYC Mom, I think if I was I would like this book A LOT more. It had a few memorable chapters, I feel like any woman in America, ok maybe the world, could write a book similar to this and have it be a little more interesting. I let out a big sigh of relief when I was done. I really did enjoy the last 7 chapters, more or less.
Dec 08, 2011
Stephanie
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Wilson is a good writer and she cuts right to the chase regarding modern motherhood. Though it was sometimes hard for me to relate to her big-city, big-pressure NYC life, there were sections that I wrote down verbatim on my blog because they so perfectly encapsulated the absurdity of parenting. Nothing game-changing or earth-shattering, but a solid, entertaining series of essays on the realities of raising children.
Aug 25, 2010
Sarah
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While I couldn't relate to some parts of the life a NY city mom (hello, pricey preschool!), I found many of the author's insights and observations to be spot on as well as hilarious. This book is really about the pressures of being a mom today and how many things we take upon ourselves. My favorite was the time she was in a rush and sent her son to school with a jar of "Jiff" as a household object representing the letter "J". As she said, she may as well have sent in radio
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Nov 13, 2010
Erika
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I loved this book. As a mom of school-aged kids, I could REALLY relate to this woman, even though we live in very different places. She was funny, honest, thinking, and feeling. I would love to read more by her, particularly once her children hit middle school. Here is a mom I would love to know in person, because I feel like we must be similar. Perhaps all mothers who read her book feel this way.
May 12, 2010
Lee Anne
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I was expecting, from the jacket flaps, this would be more of an Erma Bombeck for the 2000s. I wasn't disappointed, really, but it ended up being more memoir-y than relatable parenting hijinks. There were funny stories, and it held my interest for a good chunk of two 7-hour car trips, but it doesn't cover any new ground. The best I can say about it is at least it doesn't read like warmed-over blog leftovers, like so many of the "mommy memoir" genre.
Mar 21, 2011
Lauren
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The first half was a little slow - my kids are about 10 years older than Wilson's, so it's been a while since my kids were babies (remembering it all is kind of a blur of exhaustion mixed with boredom!). The second half was more relatable, however, as I remember well the forming of these little need machines into whole human beings, with fresh ideas of their own, and wonderful senses of humor. I laughed out loud on more than one occasion.
Undoubtedly, my favorite chapter was the stuf More...
Undoubtedly, my favorite chapter was the stuf More...
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Nov 18, 2011
Kim
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One day as I was searching for dinosaur nuggets on Amazon Fresh, Amazon suggested that I read "When Did Get Like This? The Screamer, the Worrier, the Dinosaur-nugget-buyer and Other Mothers I Swore I'd Never Be?" At first I laughed. Then I went to the library and picked it up. I could relate to every single chapter in this book as I wade through the worries and nuances of being a mother of two preschoolers. Reading this book is like meeting a witty friend for coffee and feeling a
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Nov 27, 2011
Allie
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Cute book about motherhood--all real-talk. This is one of those books that I grabbed on a whim at the libs, only to finish reading forever and a day later. Amy Wilson is a very real woman, so it was really easy to identify with her and laugh along with the humor of her day to day life. Even if you aren't a mommy (I'm certainly not!), this book is definitely funny!
Nov 27, 2011
Nancylary
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I enjoyed her candid style and appreciate her honesty (and cynicism & sarcasm) but I found myself bored. I saw so much of myself on every page. But not in an interesting way. I wasn't sure what I stood to get from the book. She's walking the same path I am, feeling the same things, approaching it the same way.
I'd recommend it to new moms trying to let go of the ideal picture of motherhood but not so much to experienced, already-slacker moms.
I would, however, recommend it More...
I'd recommend it to new moms trying to let go of the ideal picture of motherhood but not so much to experienced, already-slacker moms.
I would, however, recommend it More...
Nov 24, 2011
Kate
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I'm a little in love with Amy Wilson. Partly because I very much enjoy the matter-of-fact way that she writes about her exploits in motherhood. Partly because she made me crack up laughing and even shed a tear or two. Mostly though because this book made feel like I am not nearly as neurotic as I thought I was as a mother or if I am it is totally normal.
