SHORT & SWEET REVIEW: CONFESSIONS OF A ONCE FASHIONABLE MUM BY GEORGIA MADDEN

Note, the format of my Short and Sweet reviews differs in that they simply comprise the book blurb and a short response (hence, the short and sweet). 

What a blast from the not-too-distant past this book was! Confessions of a Once Fashionable Mum took me back to the days of playgroup, where we all talked about temper tantrums, poo, vomit and how clever our offspring were. Well, I confess to getting bored with that (the temper tantrum, poo and vomit parts) and quickly made a friend with a nuclear scientist from India (true story) so we could widen our topics of conversation (after we did all the my-child-can-do-this stuff – we didn’t call it gifted then). Here’s the blurb:

Successful hubbie? Tick. Facebook-worthy baby? Tick. Bikini-body six weeks after giving birth? Um … not so much.

Fashion PR exec Ally Bloom got her happy ending. Okay, her marriage might be showing the odd crack, her battleaxe mother-in-law might have come to stay, and she might not be the yummy mummy she’d imagined, but it’s nothing a decent night’s sleep and a firm commitment to a no-carb diet won’t fix. But when Ally returns to work and finds she’ll be reporting to a 22-year-old airhead, she decides to turn her back on life as a professional fashionista and embrace her inner earth mama instead.

So it’s out with the Louboutins and champagne and in with the sensible flats and coffee mornings with the Mummy Mafia. From attending her first grown-up dinner party only to discover that placenta is top of the menu to controlling her monster crush on local playgroup hottie Cameron, Ally must find her feet in the brave new world of the stay-at-home mum.

Confessions of a Once Fashionable Mum is a light-hearted look at the perils and joys of modern motherhood, with a focus on the being a stay-at-home mother (and giving up, or postponing a successful career). It’s funny, it’s sharp, and it proves that small children are most definitely not fashion accessories, no matter how cute they are. Things have changed a bit since Bear and Monkey were babes, what with placenta dinner parties (PDPs to the enlightened), sex toy parties and expensive happy family photo shoots (we just went to good old Pixi Foto in K-Mart). This book made me laugh, remember, and be grateful that I’ve been able to take off all the child locks, put all the good stuff back on display, pack away the Mary Poppins-esque carry bag and once again wear dream of wearing white.

Available from good bookstores (RRP $29.99). My copy was courtesy of Nero.