Boys, Dogs and Chaos

At times poignant, at times funny, always touching, this wide-ranging essay collection will speak to every reader. The heartrending opener, Forgiving Myself, is about Stephanie Kepke's struggle to overcome the soul-crushing guilt after she fainted while holding her day-old newborn, allowing him to plummet to the hospital floor and leaving him with a skull fracture. The bittersweet closing essay is a letter to young mothers, written after leaving her oldest son at college, imploring...
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At times poignant, at times funny, always touching, this wide-ranging essay collection will speak to every reader. The heartrending opener, Forgiving Myself, is about Stephanie Kepke's struggle to overcome the soul-crushing guilt after she fainted while holding her day-old newborn, allowing him to plummet to the hospital floor and leaving him with a skull fracture. The bittersweet closing essay is a letter to young mothers, written after leaving her oldest son at college, imploring them to enjoy the beautiful chaos that is life with young children--before the house is quiet. In between are essays about parenting a child with mental illness; giving up perfectionism in motherhood; battling an eating disorder (and parenting a child battling an eating disorder); health struggles; beauty and aging gracefully; hockey and more. This book is a journey--a winding, sometimes joyous, sometimes painful, but always worth it--journey, just like life...