A Real Piece of Work

AN EMOTIONALLY HONEST, ARRESTING, AND FUNNY COLLECTION OF ESSAYS ABOUT MOTHERHOOD AND ADULTHOOD. "Being a mother is a gift." Where's my receipt? Welcome to essayist Kimberly Harrington's poetic and funny world of motherhood, womanhood, and humanhood-not necessarily in that order. It's a place of loud parenting, fierce loving, too much social media, and occasional inner monologues where timeless debates are resolved such as Pro/Con: Caving to PTO Bake Sale Pressure ("Pro: Skim the crappiest brownies for myself. Con: They're really crappy."). With accessibility and wit, she captures the emotions around parenthood in artful and earnest ways, highlighting this time in the middle--midlife, the middle years of childhood, and how women are stuck in the middle of so much. It's a place of elation, exhaustion, and time whipping past at warp speed. Finally, it's a quiet space to consider the girl you were, the mother you are, and the woman you are always becoming.