How Not to Be a Perfect Mother: The Crafty Mother's Guide to a Quiet Life

I read this book 18 years ago, just after my oldest child was born and have since given copies to countless friends and acquaintances who were expecting or who had just become parents. Its tone is so refreshingly an irreverently down-to-earth that I think of it as a must-have to counterbalance the obsessiveness you see in other books about pregnancy and birth. Of course there are certain precautions to take and items to get, but there is no need to obsess over your pre-pregnancy diet, or morning sickness, or what color you should paint the nursery, or whether or not you should use cloth diapers. Relax! Enjoy! And learn some "low mother cunning," as Libby Purves calls it. You may also want to spring for "How not to raise a perfect child" and "How not to be a perfect family," which are the sequels to "How not to be a perfect mother." As you see, Libby Purves doesn't believe in perfection, except in her writing.

This book was a great read - funny and real. Highly recommend it for anyone who is watching the illusions of perfect parenting evaporate as life gets more and more challenging.