Be Happy or I'll Scream!: My Deranged Quest for the Perfect Husband, Family, and Life

by Sheri Lynch

Be Happy or I'll Scream is for every married woman who has found just the tiniest bit of disconnect between the image of a perfect family in her head-think "The Brady Bunch" or "The Huxtables"-and the evidence in front of her eyes. Instead of darling and compliant rosy-cheeked children and an adorably tolerant husband ready to go along with zany shenanigans, most women are faced kids who view family outings with all the enthusiasm of hardened inmates forced to bust rocks in roadside Alabama and a man who would trade every last one of her kooky ideas for a just a teeny little bit more sex and a hot meal on the table at six.

Sheri Lynch, co-cost of radio's syndicated Bob & Sheri , is a superb humorist of modern marriage, mores, and motherhood. Her Hello, My Name Is Mommy decoded the pitfalls of pregnancy and trials of new motherhood. Be Happy or I'll Scream taps into the wackier, even more wonderful world of family and husband management, kid-raising, and sanity maintenance in the face of it all. Her take on what life is really like inside a marriage-as opposed to what it looks like on the holiday card version of same-will ring both wacky and true to any woman who was ever foolish enough to dream of the perfect marriage and family.

Genres: Nonfiction, Parenting, Humor, Memoir, Family

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Ciara · Rating 2 out of 5]

another book that i have almost no memory of. i have a dim recollection that i expected this to be another mediocre collection of humorous parenting essays, which was fairly accurate, but i was also surprised that it's something of a stunt memoir in that the author gives herself a year to try to craft the perfect happy family life. unfortunately, i don't remember any details about what inspired this quest or what steps she took to accomplish it. all i remember is that there's some story about taking her family on a florida vacation in an RV, with lots of stuff about how vacationing in an RV actually sucks because they get awful gas mileage, you can't flush your toilet on the road, & all the RV parks where you can hook yourself up to electric & sewer are way the fuck out in the middle of nowhere so you're just stuck hanging around your RV instead if going to the beach or whatever. when i was a child, i harbored a secret fantasy that it might be fun to go on a family RV vacation, but i guess it's for the best that it never happened. my grandparents lived in their RV for many years & made it seem awesome. but they were always drunk, which probably helped.

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another book written by someone well-known whom I've never heard of - I might have enjoyed this better if I already liked the author. As is, this is one of the better pieces of birth control I've ever read - after I think the third time we read about the parents cleaning up vomit, I couldn't believe anyone would ever want to go through this voluntarily. I know that there are rewarding moments to being a parent, they're just not found in this book (except in the last few pages, which seemed hastily tacked on).

If you have kids already I bet you'll enjoy this book a lot more, as it has that "from the trenches" writing style. I get the feeling that Sheri and Kate (from "Jon and Kate plus 8") would get along really well, while their two husbands would be downstairs trying to figure out what went wrong in their lives and if escape is still an option.

[Sabrina Rutter · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a mother I could relate to this book in many ways, but at the same time found myself not liking the author to much. In my opinion Sheri is a bit of a stuck-up. She is funny but her corner of the world and mine are very far apart. I beleive it is a waste of money to be teaching your 3 year old to speak with a british slang. Also to teach your 3 year old French makes it obvious that your trying to impress people through your children.
I found myself feeling sorry for her husband alot. Her husband is like a live-in nanny with benefits for the mommy. When things get nasty (which happens alot with little ones) she leaves her husband to clean up the messes on his own.
I'll bet that when the kids become teenagers she will become so bitter toward her husband that they will get a divorce. She will throw him out like an old dish rag!

[Emilie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this up off the shelving cart at the library, knowing nothing about the author or the book. And I ended up loving it.

It made me laugh out loud and when I appealed to my husband to read a chapter aloud to me while I did the dishes, he laughed so hard that he couldn't read. The anecdotes about her experiences raising her children were so familiar that I really think that Sheri Lynch and I have doppleganger children. It was great to find someone that could tell the stories that many of us experience and make us laugh at the frustrations of parenthood and marriage. Vomit, multiple in-the-same-night interruptions and being impaled by Triceratops horns seem overwhelmingly frustrating things at the time and Lynch shows that perfectly. However, she turns it around and makes the reader laugh at it. And...ultimately, laughter is a much better reaction than tears or anger.

[treehugger · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have a secret crush on Sheri Lynch on her morning radio show - she's brilliant, hilarious, and down to earth about life, her faults, and humanity in general. I've been looking forward to getting my hands on this book for a long time, and Barnes & Nobles had it as a bargain book...AWESOME!

I have to say that she's actually MUCH funnier when she's just talking off the cuff rather than writing. It was the tiniest bit disappointing, although it was cool that I could hear the book being read in her voice bc I've listened to her so many mornings..

This book was a cute book about being a Mom and being married and being the bread-winner and about being a neurotic Type A perfectionist :). I think we can all identify with at least part of that, right?? ;)

[Tessa Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an avid fan of the Bob & Sheri show, naturally I had to read this book after hearing them discuss it on the radio. Sheri is just as entertaining in her book as she is on the job, and I enjoyed reading it. I don't believe there is a single woman that couldn't relate to some, if not all, of this book as women have to perform a balancing act every day to maintain her business and personal life. This book makes you realize that everyone faces the same core battles and you are not the lone warrior out there.

[Susan Bazzett-Griffith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing spectacular or new in this parenting memoir, based on the author's New Years Resolution to try to turn her wacky family into a family more like the ones on 1980s sitcoms; however, the pace is fast, the essays witty and sarcastic, and the author usually likable and affable about her family's flaws. A very fast and easy read- a good book to pick up before bed because a chapter at a time is plenty to amuse and the chapters are not necessarily related enough to need to continue reading as you finish each one.

[Krista · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to say that this book is quite funny. I'm about half-way through and enjoying myself. I highly recommend it for it's lighthearted, yet honest look at the way mothers tend to set very high goals for themselves and may be better served to just do the best they can.

This lady is hilarious with a wicked sense of humor. I loved the chapter on "Children of the Corn Maze." Recommended reading alongside something more serious for a little comic relief. These chapters stand alone.

[Dorann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book during a meet and greet with Sheri and her radio co-host Bob. Both of them were hilarious in person, and Sheri's sense of humor definitely shined through in the book. If you are a frazzled mother I would highly recommend this book as a way to let some frustration out through humor and just and easy, enjoyable read.

[Emily]

I heart Sheri Lynch so much. She is absolutely hysterical. Her nationally syndicated radio show (The Bob and Sheri show) is based in Charlotte, NC, my old stomping grounds, and I used to listen to them every morning.

She is a fantastic, funny writer -- her first book "Hello my name is mommy" was super.

[Minda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book and laughed uncontrollably to the point of tears in almost every chapter. While I was tearing up and reading it on the plane to Napa folks kept asking me what I was reading. This book made me want to start listening to her radio show because if she is even half as funny on her show as she was in this book, I'll be hooked! A must read for moms.

[Brenda Rasco · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was funny and I could relate a lot to Sheri and what she was feeling. Most of the things that happened in the book have also happened in my family at one time or another. I thought it was inspirational at the end how she basically said that the key to the perfect family is not what you do, but how you deal with what happens. Although I know that, it was nice to be reminded.

[Leigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, probably one of the best and most honest mommy-memoirs I've come across. The writing itself is a bit scattered and unfocused at times, but then again you could say that just adds to the whole frazzled mom feel of the thing.

[Jann · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was written by the radio personality, Sheri Lynch. While I don't listen to her show, I was pleasantly surprised by her writing. She writes about her family and her quest to have the "perfect life". Very funny. A young mother would especially enjoy this book.

[Tiffany Mclaughlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very funny and insightful read. I was laughing on nearly every page and was more than a little disappointed when I ran out of pages. I don't know if I regret not having kids or not! I'll definitely be keeping an eye open for more of Sheri's writing.

[Amy B · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Sheri, though I think she's funnier in person (on the radio) than in her books. Still, there were several passages in this book that had me laughing out loud. I could definitely relate to most of this!

[cmeiers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every page, I laugh and laugh, out loud!

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hands down, the funniest book on parenting I have EVER read.

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you listen to "The Bob and Sheri Show," you'll think it's funny. If you have kids you'll laugh out loud.

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny life experiences

[Heather Donavant · Rating 1 out of 5]

pretty good, however it was kind of frustrating the amount of tantrums and crying that seems to go on

[Gaurett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Light funny book about motherhood.

[Christy · Rating 4 out of 5]

pretty funny, in an exhausted mom kinda way

[Carrieuoregon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very amusing and occasionally hitting close to home (winces).

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had read this book earlier but I don't think I finished it b/c I only remembered parts! It was a very good book! Very uplifting and funny. Fun!

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

So funny and so true...

[Wendy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not as funny as I'd hoped

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty funny! Love the radio show.

[Kaethe · Rating 2 out of 5]

eh, not so funny to me; deranged is right

[Athena Macmillan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A memoir of one woman as she attempts to craft her family into the perfect happy sitcom life, put into witty and sometimes laugh out loud funny essays. Well worth the read.