#best09 December 4 Book. What book – fiction or non – touched you?

The book that touched me, spoke to my heart, made me laugh out loud and cry quietly hands down was Ayelet Waldman‘s Bad Mother- A Chronicle of Maternal Crimes, Minor Calamities, and Occasional Moments of Grace. This last May I wrote my own twisted Mother’s Day tribute which included how I just could not wait to get my hands on this book. It wasn’t long after that when I went out and bought that book. I spent every free moment I had digging into the pages of Waldman’s journey through bad mommyhood. So much of her journey I could relate to as I have juggled babies, breast pumps, work, depression, kids’ learning disabilities, husband and my own twisted up relationship with my mother. From the most mundane to the most dramatic to the most ridiculous of motherhood it is easy to identify with Waldman’s honesty even in her own perceived failings. The most poignant had to be her tale about Rocketship. I have cared for patients whose parents were faced with their own tragic, beautiful Rocketship and what should they do. It is unimaginable for me as a parent to know what it is like . While I am pretty certain that I would have made a different choice than Waldman I can’t help but feel her pain and her loss; after all I am a mother too. I did cry reading that chapter. Reading this book has made me see myself as a mother in a different, more accepting light. It made me see other mothers in a different light…even the “good” ones. Truly we are all good mothers even when we are bad.

Are you participating in the #Best09 challenge? Leave a comment and tell me so I can be sure to follow along with you.