In her witty, wry, insightful new novel, Roz Bailey follows the adventures of one woman who's discovering a new state--and a whole new state of mind. . . Some signs are hard to ignore. . . When Ruby Dixon's car is stolen--again--on the day her husband is offered a job in Portland, Oregon, the message seems clear. It's time to give up stressful New York living in favor of bucolic bliss in the Great Northwest. Others you don't see until it's too late. . . Now Ruby, Jack, and their three children have a palatial house in a peaceful burb, and everything's perfect. Except that Ruby can't get a decent haircut, can't seem to crack her neighbors' shells. . .and Jack is constantly away on business. If it wasn't for her new friend Ariel, another transplanted New Yorker who's earned the ire of the local PTA, Ruby would be about ready to cry uncle. And some guide you right where you need to be But if life is dependable for one thing, it's unexpected turns, leaving Ruby and her children in a far from familiar place. Their new situation is beyond terrifying. . .But it's also somehow exhilarating. Because Ruby is about to find out just what can happen when there are no compromises, no safety nets, and no rules to follow but your own. . . Roz Bailey went to college in New York City and never looked back. She spent the better part of her twenties searching for a fine romance, both at work as an editor and after hours in Manhattan. She's a huge fan of cities and hopes to one day return to a lifestyle full of museums and theaters, far from the land of minivans and drive-through windows. She currently lives with her husband and two children in the Pacific Northwest, where she has taken up walking in the rain and teaching art literacy. She is immersed in a study of slackers and can be found doing research in local coffee shops while working on her latte addiction, one day at a time.

For fans of Go the F*ck to Sleep, Mommy Cusses is a hilarious novelty parenting book full of tell-it-like-it-is quotes, snarky lists, and too-true anecdotes that will resonate with new moms everywhere. For new-ish mothers who need to laugh at the absurdity of parenting so they don't cry, who are looking for a we're-in-this-together sense of solidarity, and who don't have time to read a "real" book, here is a hilarious and highly relatable collection of mom malarkey. There are real-talk quotes, helpful lists (such as "How to Look Like You Have Your Act Together"), "mom-tivities," and quizzes, all delivered with a healthy dose of sarcasm. Packaged in a handy trim size with colorful illustrations throughout, Mommy Cusses is the perfect gift for moms and moms-to-be who need some comic relief. • GREAT GIFT: Mommy Cusses is super relatable and laugh-out-loud funny, making it an easy gift for Mother's Day or a baby shower, or an anytime gift for a parent. • PERENNIAL TOPIC: It doesn't take long to experience all the ups and downs of parenting. Mommy Cusses features timeless mommy humor that won't go out of style and a fresh look and feel that speaks to young parents. Perfect for: • Expectant parents and parents of children under 5 • Shoppers looking for a baby shower or Mother's Day gift for a friend, spouse, or daughter • Followers of the Mommy Cusses blog or Instagram account

Meritocracy today involves the idea that whatever your social position at birth, society ought to offer enough opportunity and mobility for ‘talent’ to combine with ‘effort’ in order to ‘rise to the top’. This idea is one of the most prevalent social and cultural tropes of our time, as palpable in the speeches of politicians as in popular culture. In this book Jo Littler argues that meritocracy is the key cultural means of legitimation for contemporary neoliberal culture – and that whilst it promises opportunity, it in fact creates new forms of social division. Against Meritocracy is split into two parts. Part I explores the genealogies of meritocracy within social theory, political discourse and working cultures. It traces the dramatic U-turn in meritocracy’s meaning, from socialist slur to a contemporary ideal of how a society should be organised. Part II uses a series of case studies to analyse the cultural pull of popular ‘parables of progress’, from reality TV to the super-rich and celebrity CEOs, from social media controversies to the rise of the ‘mumpreneur’. Paying special attention to the role of gender, ‘race’ and class, this book provides new conceptualisations of the meaning of meritocracy in contemporary culture and society.

Modern Mom Probs: A Survival Guide for 21st Century Mothers is a guide for modern mothers trying to navigate the daily joys and worries they face. It sheds light on the experiences modern moms eat, sleep, and breathe…and obsess about. Using checklists, graphs, and smart, funny advice, this must-have book revels in the messiness and beauty of modern motherhood. Tara Clark, creator of the popular Instagram account “Modern Mom Probs,” started the conversation for moms looking for an online village. In this book, she continues the conversation with funny, easy-to-digest information, including advice from medical professionals. Inside, she’ll tackle how to: • Manage screen time without a meltdown • Navigate playground geopolitics • Overcome information overload • Teach your children about inclusivity • Find mom friends and keep them

THE NATIONAL BESTSELLER Hilarious best friends Cat and Nat created a massive online community of moms by sharing their ultra-real and just a bit R-rated dispatches from the mom trenches. From what not to eat a few days after giving birth (chicken wings) to the most effective ways to dodge post-partum sex, Cat & Nat’s Mom Truths shares everything no one will tell you about having kids. Mixing memoir, humor, and advice, Cat and Nat tell never-before-told stories about the stress, guilt, joy, and laundry (oh the laundry!) of being a mom in their first book. With seven kids between them and millions of fans on social media, they get real about the parts of parenting that somehow don’t make the Instagram feed. Sharing their outrageous humor, fearless myth-busting, and genuine comfort on every page, they walk you from pregnancy to the toddler years and beyond. And they dole out ridiculously honest advice, like what you think you need at the hospital when you have your first baby (lip gloss) versus what you actually need (hemorrhoid pillow), and how worried you should really be about germs (less than you are). Fearless crusaders against the perfection myth and all the gluten-free, sugar-free baking it entails, Cat and Nat assure you that you’re already doing a great job, making this an essential companion for moms everywhere.

A modern parenting classic—a guide to a new and gentle way of understanding the care and nurture of infants, by the internationally renowned childcare expert, podcaster, and author of No Bad Kids “An absolute go-to for all parents, therapists, anyone who works with, is, or knows parents of young children.”—Wendy Denham, PhD A Resources for Infant Educarers (RIE) teacher and student of pioneering child specialist Magda Gerber, Janet Lansbury helps parents look at the world through the eyes of their infants and relate to them as whole people who have natural abilities to learn without being taught. Once we are able to view our children in this light, even the most common daily parenting experiences become stimulating opportunities to learn, discover, and connect with our child. A collection of the most-read articles from Janet’s popular and long-running blog, Elevating Child Care focuses on common infant issues, including: • Nourishing our babies’ healthy eating habits • Calming your clingy, fearful child • How to build your child’s focus and attention span • Developing routines that promote restful sleep Eschewing the quick-fix tips and tricks of popular parenting culture, Lansbury’s gentle, insightful guidance lays the foundation for a closer, more fulfilling parent-child relationship, and children who grow up to be authentic, confident, successful adults.

“For fans of Sex and the City and The Nanny Diaries comes this juicy story…that would make even the most meticulously Drybar-ed hair curl.”—Good Housekeeping As seen in The Washington Post • Good Housekeeping • theSkimm • Good Morning America • ABC News • Book of the Month • Belletrist • OK! Magazine • Betches • Newsweek • Parade • New York Post Best Book of the Week A dark, witty page-turner about a struggling young musician who takes a job singing for a playgroup of overprivileged babies and their effortlessly cool moms, only to find herself pulled into their glamorous lives and dangerous secrets.... After her former band shot to superstardom without her, Claire reluctantly agrees to a gig as a playgroup musician for wealthy infants on New York's Park Avenue. Claire is surprised to discover that she is smitten with her new employers, a welcoming clique of wellness addicts with impossibly shiny hair, who whirl from juice cleanse to overpriced miracle vitamins to spin class with limitless energy. There is perfect hostess Whitney who is on the brink of social-media stardom and just needs to find a way to keep her flawless life from falling apart. Caustically funny, recent stay-at-home mom Amara who is struggling to embrace her new identity. And old money, veteran mom Gwen who never misses an opportunity to dole out parenting advice. But as Claire grows closer to the stylish women who pay her bills, she uncovers secrets and betrayals that no amount of activated charcoal can fix. Filled with humor and shocking twists, Happy and You Know It is a brilliant take on motherhood – exposing it as yet another way for society to pass judgment on women – while also exploring the baffling magnetism of curated social-media lives that are designed to make us feel unworthy. But, ultimately, this dazzling novel celebrates the unlikely bonds that form, and the power that can be unlocked, when a group of very different women is thrown together when each is at her most vulnerable.

Out-parented at PTA? Out-liked on social media? Wondering how your best friend from high school’s kids are always color-coordinated, angelic, and beaming from every photo, while your kids look more like feral monkeys? It’s okay. Imperfection is the new perfection! Join Meredith Ethington, “one of the funniest parents on Facebook,” according to Today.com, as she relates encouraging stories of real-mom life in her debut parenting humor book, Mom Life: Perfection Pending. Whether you’re buried in piles of laundry, packing your 50th sack lunch for the week, or almost making it out the door in time for school, you’ll laugh along with stories of what real-mom life is like—and realize that sometimes simply making it through the day is good enough. An uplifting yet real look at all that is expected of moms in the 21st century, Mom Life: Perfection Pending is so relatable you’ll find yourself saying, “I guess I’m doing okay after all.”

With Mothers Who Can't Love: A Healing Guide for Daughters, Susan Forward, Ph.D., author of the smash #1 bestseller Toxic Parents, offers a powerful look at the devastating impact unloving mothers have on their daughters—and provides clear, effective techniques for overcoming that painful legacy. In more than 35 years as a therapist, Forward has worked with large numbers of women struggling to escape the emotional damage inflicted by the women who raised them. Subjected to years of criticism, competition, role-reversal, smothering control, emotional neglect and abuse, these women are plagued by anxiety and depression, relationship problems, lack of confidence, and difficulties with trust. They doubt their worth, and even their ability to love. Forward examines the Narcissistic Mother, the Competitive Mother, the Overly Enmeshed mother, the Control Freak, Mothers who need Mothering, and mothers who abuse or fail to protect their daughters from abuse. Filled with compelling case histories, Mothers Who Can’t Love outlines the self-help techniques Forward has developed to transform the lives of her clients, showing women how to overcome the pain of childhood and how to act in their own best interests. Warm and compassionate, Mothers Who Can’t Love offers daughters the emotional support and tools they need to heal themselves and rebuild their confidence and self-respect.

The first book to teach stressed-out new mothers how to heal themselves. Women raising young children in the twenty-first century face relentless, often overwhelming stress. Today's mothers juggle more tasks, work longer hours, and sleep less than their own mothers did. Mother Nurtureis the first book to address these issues with a comprehensive program of physical, psychological, and interpersonal care methods for a mother during the first three to four years of her child's life.