Happy Housewives: I Was a Whining, Miserable, Desperate Housewife--But I Finally Snapped Out of It...You Can, Too!

I love this book! After hearing a lot of my girlfriends say how much they loved Happy Housewives I reluctantly borrowed a copy from my best friend. A trial lawyer in my pre-mommy days with an ivy league education I did not think this book was for me. It is not going to win the Pulitzer. But you know what? I have a shelf full of Wolf and Paglia, and I am bored to death of it. Happy Housewives is just about the funniest book I have read in years. I loved it. I laughed all the way through it. I read it in two days. Could not put it down. I had to come here to order my own copy. After reading some of these reviews I have to laugh again. Any woman who would get upset over the 'ramming the cart into her big fat ass' comment really doesn't get it. This book is a satire, a spoof, a comedy, and mostly a great kick in the ass. Darla Shine brings a refreshing tone to the usually boring mommy books. I felt like she was sitting with me right at my kitchen table drinking a cup of coffee. She is the woman I wish was living next door to me. For the reviewer who called her a snob.... what on earth is that about? What does that mean? I read the same book and I found Shine to be completely down to earth and selfless. She let me into her world to hear that her life is not always great. She is one of the few mom authors who I thought was willing to expose herself. I appreciated that. It's funny, it seems to be the same women accusing Shine of adding to the mommy wars who are dividing women themselves. Shouldn't you be happy a sister wrote a book that pleases thousands of moms everywhere? There is a great divide in this country between the working moms and the stay at home moms. I too have been on both sides of the fence as Darla says. And thanks to her I can say proudly that I choose to be on team SAHM. Ladies, if you want to have a glass of wine, sit back, enjoy a fun book, and have a lot of laughs, this is it.

After seeing Darla on Fox News, I skipped out to the bookstore to buy her book and am I glad I did!!! I am a healthcare professional turned Stay-at-home Mom and this was exactly the pep talk I was looking for. After a rewarding 25 year career, during which time we raised 3 children and both worked full time, my husband made me an offer I couldn't refuse: To stay at home and care for my family. Darla struck a chord in me when she talked about falling into the "whiny", oh woe is me mode that can be very real for women who haven't taken on this responsibility before. Its deceptively easy to fall into that trap if you let yourself and especially if you listen to the so-called enlightened feminists who would have us believe we should be career women banging our heads on that glass ceiling to be really fulfilled in life. Darla is hysterically funny and has just right amount of "smart-ass" while at the same time she is truly passionate and sensitive and obviously full of love. I am proud to tell anyone that I am privileged to stay at home and I don't miss the work-world for a second! Nor do I lounge around eating bonbons and watching soap operas!!! I'm gratefull to Darla for dispelling the myths that we housewives are "desperate", bored, promiscuous bubble heads who are kept and spoiled by their men! My husband knows I am here and can handle whatever comes up and he can focus on his job without worrying about the home front. Talk about multi-tasking!!! And YES he appreciates it and Yes we spoil each other! My Respiratory Therapist career was dull by comparison. I would never walk three steps behind a man and he wouldn't dream of asking me to! So to those of you who have turned your nose up and dissed Darla for writing this book-- you are the ones who are unenlightened and myopic. I keep this book on my coffee table and I tell all my mommy friends to read it as well. Well done Darla!! Remember girls: The hand that rocks the cradle RULES THE WORLD!! Shine on Darla...you make me proud!!!

I thoroughly enjoyed Darla Shine's book, "Happy Housewives". I heard her interviewed on the Laura Ingram show and had thought, it's about time someone addressed the unique outlook of the professional mom turned housewife or as I call myself, "homemaker." I had read related articles and heard popular talk show hosts such as Dr. Laura and other various guests on "Focus on the Family" and similar programs speak to the value of Stay At Home Moms and mothering in general. However, Darla's book is the first I've seen which specifically addresses those of us who left very lucrative careers, offering not only money, camaraderie, prestige, and perks, but a sense of importance and meaning in exchange for the often underrated and unappreciated job of wife and mother. And while I never considered myself a shallow or status-conscious professional in my previous life, I definitely didn't believe that anyone would think my job as a housewife remotely paralleled my former position. So first and foremost, thanks Darla for telling our story! Now, for you uberfeminists or offended ladies out there, do you truly get what Darla is really saying? It seems some of you just don't understand her tongue-in-cheek approach. For example, I read one review by a lady who criticized the cute little picture of Darla on her book's inside back cover. Darla's black evening dress, heels, frilly apron, candlelit table, and apparently well behaved children somehow affronted this woman, who accused Darla of suggesting we recreate June Cleaver! Well, DUH, that was the spoof! Any intelligent, half-awake mother with a touch of off-the-wall humor would get that. Or maybe I just happen to think in some sort of bizarre, overstressed, imaginative fashion that nobody out there would understand - except maybe Darla! So ladies, don't get so serious and uptight. Frankly, I get tired of all you apron-phobic chicks. Just because I stay home to love and care for my kids and my husband - and they ALL can drive me crazy and wear me out completely - doesn't mean I am subservient or that I suffer or that I feel like a martyr for "giving up" a career or previous lifestyle. I used to think I had to continually climb the professional ladder. I was a latchkey kid with two hardworking parents. My Mom stressed that I be independent, well educated, and successful. Darla Shine's book helped remind me that being a housewife doesn't preclude these things! It's OK to be doing what I do now for my family - it's the "right" thing! In fact, I think of myself as the stronger, more knowledgeable, and more capable woman compared to our feminist sisters. Feminism is defined as "the doctrine advocating the extension of the activities of women in social and political life" (The American College Dictionary). Ironically, as a housewife, I am better able to uphold the true ideals of feminism, than I would be if I was still breaking the glass ceiling, commuting in gridlock, and working my butt off to pe

With comments ranging from one end of the spectrum to the other, I had to read Darla's (after reading it I'm on a first-name basis with my new girlfriend) book. I took her advice-- I cooked her recipes, dressed up like a tart for the man that I love and reconnected with two friends I really missed. More importantly, I stopped looking at my switch from well-paid salesperson to stay-at-home Mom as a demotion. By the end of the week, my husband didn't mind that I left the cordless in the rain for the fourth time, the kids were getting along better and and I was happier. Her advice worked. Her message, however you may feel about the packaging, is inspiring and all about self-empowerment. It's group therapy in a book. I will refer to it when I'm feeling blue and unappreciated. I'm also blowing the dust off of '203 Ways to Drive a Man Wild in Bed'. Between the two of these books, feeling good and looking better is right there for you. Thank you, Darla!

I was a stay-at-home mom, married, for 10 years and am now a working professional....as a single mom raising two kids. Having been on both sides of the fence, I can say that Darla is a straight-shooter who tells it like it is. Do men need a steady dose of attention and admiration? Yes. Would another woman be willing to initiate an affair with your overweight, over-the-hill, hubby? You betcha. Can you expect great sex when you're constantly nagging your man or insulting his manhood? Um, no...kiss of death. All of these observations are probably "common sense" items when we are in the throws of young, newlywed, love but it is unbelieveably easy to succumb to tired, worn-out habits and that's when we begin taking our husbands - and our marriages - for granted. Darla does a wonderful job reminding stay-at-home wives and moms just how good they have it. She's blunt, she's sassy, and she's going to dish out the straight scoop just like your best girlfriend would...whether you like it or not. Darla cuts to the chase: stop whining, take care of your family, take pride in your appearance, eat healthy, keep fit, turn up the heat in the bedroom, get a life of your own and don't depend on your hubby for your happiness, stop nagging, clean your home and cook(thanks Darla for recipes without 25+ ingredients...), play with your kids, and spend some time on yourself. If you think that's a lot of plates to spin in the air at once...Darla streamlines and simplifies each step with concrete, realistic tips and advice. This is much better than Oprah, ladies. So do yourself a big favor...if you need a reminder of why you are changing dirty diapers, wiping up spilled juice, refereeing your toddlers at the playground, coming up with something new to cook for dinner...Darla's here to inspire you. She's going to point out what you already know...you're one smart cookie to stay home and raise those babies, take care of your husband, and foster your family. If you don't embrace your wifehood and motherhood, you'd better be prepared for another woman to come along who will.