The Bad Mother's Handbook

This is the story of three women from three generations living in the same house in a small town in England. Nan is the grandmother whose memory seems to be filled with reminiscing from her harsh childhood. Karen is the daughter dealing with a pregnant teenage daughter and a mother whose memory is fading fast, but not before passing on the information that she is not Karen's birth mother. Charlotte is the granddaughter who is struggling to become her own person. Each character tells their own story which, at first glance, seems to be the story of a very dysfunctional family. But as their stories progress one can begin to understand how this family got to be so messed up. Karen, who had Charlotte when she was a teenager and had to forgo college has pinned all her unrealized hopes and dreams onto her daughter who she wants to see get a good education and succeed in life. She also has to wrestle with the decision of seeking out her birth mother. Charlotte has to come to grips with being an unwed teenage mother and the fact that her choices may sever her already tenuous relationship with her own mother. ***** Straight away I was caught up in the reality of these three women. Life is always throwing curve balls and some people seem get thrown more than others as is the case with Nan, Karen, and Charlotte in Kate Long's book that is realistic, sad, funny, and heartwarming. I truly enjoyed this sometimes harsh, sometimes tender story that lets you know that no matter how bad you think you have mucked things up it is never to late to turn it around! ***** Reviewed by Barbara Stabler.

The title is what drew me to this book. This book is awesome. It is the story of 3 generations ... grandma, mom, and daughter ... and the struggles between and realizations of all three of them. It will teach the reader a thing or two as well. Highly recommended to the chick lit lover.

Funny, despairing, real - if u have ever felt like a loser, winner and half way participant in life at the same time then this novel is for you. Simple, unpretentious, and surprisingly humorous, it traces a brief interlude in the lives of three women ( okay one is a girl) - all daughters, all mothers, the three related to each other - and the men in their lives, intermingled with their mistakes, memories and maudlin catharsis ...all of which build up to a wonderful, soppy, happy hormone releasing end!

I had to buy this book because the title made me laugh. When I first started reading, I was put off by the first section which is a slightly disorienting flashback to Nan's youth. A page or two later, however, I couldn't put it down. There isn't an announcement every time you switch narrators, so you have to pay attention, but I found each of the three women fascinating. Most of all, I loved what the author did with the characters, the way she settled their individual stories with compassion and realism. Looking forward to Swallowing Grandma (again with the must-buy title!)

I thought this was a really good book - it alternates between the three women but in highlights not in the family saga style of the eighties. I really enjoyed it - she made it plausible that the granddaughter who disdained her mother would follow in her shoes. I am alredy looking forward to her next - swallowing grandma!