Editorial Review
According to Andrea Buchanan, “mother shock” is the state in which many new parents exist during those first confusing, chaotic, and often comical years of parenting. It is the clash between expectation and result, theory and reality; a twilight zone of 24-hour-a-day living where life is no longer neatly divided into day and night. It is the stress of trying to acclimate quickly to the immediacy of mothering; of formulating a new conception of oneself, one’s role in the family and in the world; of shouldering a fearful new level of responsibility and a new delegation of domestic duties. In this much-needed and delightfully funny collection, Buchanan shares the insight she gains as she moves through the stages of mother shock. From “Fear of the Double Stroller” and “Confessions of a Bottle Feeder” to “I’m an Idiot” and “Everything I Needed to Know I Learned in Playgroup,” Buchanan details the unimaginably difficult and unbelievably rewarding process of becoming a mother. Spanning the first three years of her daughter’s life, these amusing ruminations on mothering will strike a chord with every new mother.
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Customer Reviews
A great read for any new mom! 
2007-07-02
This is the book you'll want to buy for all of your friends who are new moms. The books is entertaining and a breath of fresh air. It allows one to see that all moms are human and all of the emotions that go along with motherhood are normal. So many women feel guilty if they express any negative emotions with motherhood, but Andrea Buchanan allows us to laugh at ourselves and humbly see our own humanness.
An honest approach to motherhood 
2007-01-10
It's helpful to read this book to understand the "other" moments of motherhood that we rarely talk about.
A must read for every new mother 2006-09-28
I must confess that since first reading this book, I have come to know the author and she is every bit as lovely and funny as she comes off on the page -- I like my biases to be transparent. But this is a book that is very close to my heart. I read it when I was suffering from post partum depression and felt that I was the only woman in the world who did not feel totally fulfilled 24 hours a day, 365 days a year by being a mother. Without reading Andi's truthful account of her own mother shock, I would likely be sitting in a padded room somewhere. This book is funny and heartfelt and beautiful. I recommend it for every new mother.
Anne Lamott's "Operating Instructions" is much better. 
2006-09-26
I read a lot of books about motherhood before I had my son, while I was trying to figure out whether it would be really worth it. (ie., Is it as great as mothers always say it is, or are they just trying to bring happy motherless women into the baby pit with them?) I am still interested in reading about motherhood even though I have taken the plunge because I am still interested in finding words that describe the experience accurately. (It really IS wonderful but it sort of consumes you too.) Reviews seemed to indicate that this book had a revealing confessional honesty but I didn't find anything new here and it wasn't particulary well written. Anne Lamott's "Operating Instructions - Diary of My Son's First Year" contains many more "Yes! So true." moments and is more funny, and touching and beautifully written. To put it more succinctly, I laughed and bawled several times while reading "Operating Instructions" but this was kind of a bore.
Best book I've read as a new Mama 2006-07-18
As a new mom of a 4-month old baby, I have been overwhelmed (to say the least) at the transformation of my own personality when becoming a "mama". I felt that Buchanan's book was a beautifully honest articulation of the things that many new moms feel when they become parents. It offers a few suggestions on coping strategies, but its main strength is its reassurance that others feel as I sometimes do about the workload (both physical and mental) of mothering, and that it is ok not to love every minute of it, but that you can still be a 'good' mom if you love "every (other) minute of it." Kudos to Buchanan for her bravery in writing about such a personal experience and for getting it out there so others can feel validated in their thoughts on becoming a mother, too.
Draws you right in from the beginning 2006-01-07
According to Andrea Buchanan, “mother shock” is the state in which many new parents exist during those first confusing, chaotic, and often comical years of parenting. It is the clash between expectation and result, theory and reality; a twilight zone of 24-hour-a-day living where life is no longer neatly divided into day and night. It is the stress of trying to acclimate quickly to the immediacy of mothering; of formulating a new conception of oneself, one’s role in the family and in the world; of shouldering a fearful new level of responsibility and a new delegation of domestic duties. In this much-needed and delightfully funny collection, Buchanan shares the insight she gains as she moves through the stages of mother shock. From “Fear of the Double Stroller” and “Confessions of a Bottle Feeder” to “I’m an Idiot” and “Everything I Needed to Know I Learned in Playgroup,” Buchanan details the unimaginably difficult and unbelievably rewarding process of becoming a mother. Spanning the first three years of her daughter’s life, these amusing ruminations on mothering will strike a chord with every new mother.
Fabulous 2005-10-23
I personally thought this book was great and it seems very honest, although I wouldn't know, I don't have kids yet.
But I gave it to a pregnant friend who said the tone was really quite depressing and she might prefer to read it AFTER the baby was born.
Another friend who'd had a baby said she couldn't relate, and that she'd coped quite well with her baby - maybe she was just lucky.
All in all, yes, some of the book was depressing, but I'm kind of expecting the first few months of having a baby to be both depressing and fabulous, so good on her for being honest and telling it ALL..not just the Hallmark moments!
I felt understood 2005-10-16
I thought I was ready for motherhood - how hard could this be? I was very unprepared and once in it, felt alone, not understood by my husband and a guilty because I wasn't enjoying it as much as I thought I was supposed to. This book brought me back. I was in the book store with my baby, thumbing through books and picked up this one. I happened to open to one page that read as it if were my life. I was so overwhelmed to see it, to finally have SOMEONE understand (even if a book), that I broke down crying in the store. Needless to say, I bought the book and read it right away. It really changed how I felt about being a mother and sort of opened up the world to me to let me know that I was not the only one having a hard time. And from then on, things got easier and I was happier. A definite must have for all moms and moms-to-be. Now, I too am looking for a double stroller :)
Just a side note, I also read Anne Lamont's Operating Instructions. I prefered Mother Shock, mostly because Operating Instructions gets depressing in the end. It switches from talking about her new baby to her best, best friend who is diagnosed with cancer, becomes very ill and eventually passes away. I didn't need anything that heavy when I was looking for mothering support and/or humor.
Skilled writing, honest thoughts, slightly flawed structure and theme 2005-09-20
I very much enjoyed my reading of Mother Shock. The author reported honestly on many feelings I think many mothers have---how it seems incredible how routine childbirth is to the hospital personnel, how sometimes once the babies start talking and walking you wonder how you ever thought it was hard when they couldn't yet, how great it feels the first time you realize that you are actually being understood by your child--and much more.
I did feel that the structure of the book could have been a bit better. It has the feel of so many books I've read lately---like it started as a collection of essays and was mushed together into a book. Baby Emily jumps in age back and forth, events don't occur in sequence, and I always think with just a touch of editing (which the author does for a living) this would feel more like a complete book and less like a collection of columns.
Also, although this is really a compliment and not a complaint, I don't think the book really was as much about mother shock as just about mothering in general, well-written mothering! I read it expecting much more about how hard the early years with a baby were, and found instead a mother that has pretty typical bad and good days and hours, but overall seems to be quite into the whole mothering scene---which was nice!
I look forward to more writing from this author---perhaps a book about how she decided to give up on being a concert pianist?
Must-Read for all Moms! 2005-09-08
I give Mothershock to all my new-mom friends. It's funny, insightful and honest. It should be required reading for all pregnant women.
