Good-Enough Mother

For every woman who's passed off store-bought cakes as her own at the school bake sale comes an honest look at motherhood.

In an ideal world, mothers would have time to hand-sew their kids' costumes for the school play, prepare all-organic meals, and volunteer in the classroom at the drop of a hat. In reality, most moms have to settle for plopping their little ones in front of SpongeBob so that they can prepare yet another chicken nugget-based dinner, guiltily convinced they're falling down on the job.

In Good-Enough Mother, Rene Syler shares how she learned to chuck perfection for practicality. She shows other women seeking to balance family, work, and some semblance of a personal life how to happily join the ranks of good-enough mothers who occasionally serve breakfast for dinner yet give their children plenty of what really matters -- love, time, and support.

Whether it's dealing with annoying Super-Moms, bluffing through a third grader's math homework, or coping with the words that strike terror into every parent's heart ("Your son's teacher on line one"), the welcome empathy and sage advice of Good-Enough Mother will have every modern mom laughing in relief and recognition.