As an executive at "The Washington Post" and mother of three, Steiner has lived every side of the "mommy wars." In this new book, she commissions 26 outspoken mothers to write about their lives, their families, and the choices that have worked for them. The result is a frank, surprising, and utterly refreshing look at American motherhood.

With motherhood comes one of the toughest decisions of a woman’s life: Stay at home or pursue a career? The dilemma not only divides mothers into hostile, defensive camps but pits individual mothers against themselves. Leslie Morgan Steiner has been there. As an executive at The Washington Post, a writer, and mother of three, she has lived and breathed every side of the “mommy wars.” Rather than just watch the battles rage, Steiner decided to do something about it. She commissioned twenty-six outspoken mothers to write about their lives, their families, and the choices that have worked for them. The result is a frank, surprising, and utterly refreshing look at American motherhood. Ranging in age from twenty-five to seventy-two and scattered across the country from New Hampshire to California, these mothers reflect the full spectrum of lifestyle choices. Women who have been home with the kids from day one, moms who shuttle from full-time office jobs to part-time at-home work, hard-driving executives who put in seventy-hour-plus weeks: they all get a turn. The one thing these women have in common, aside from having kids, is that they’re all terrific writers. Pulitzer Prize winner Jane Smiley vividly recounts how her generation stormed the American workplace–only to take refuge at home when the workplace drove them out. Lizzie McGuire creator Terri Minsky describes what it felt like to hear her kids scream “I hope you never come back!” when she flew to L.A. to launch the show that made her career. Susan Cheever, novelist, biographer, and Newsday columnist, reports on the furious battles between the stroller pushers and the briefcase bearers on the streets of Manhattan. Lois R. Shea traded the journalistic fast track for a house in the country where she could raise her daughter in peace. Ann Misiaszek Sarnoff, chief operating officer of the Women’s National Basketball Association, argues fiercely that you can combine ambition and motherhood–and have a blast in the process. Candid, engaging, by turns unflinchingly honest and painfully funny, the essays collected here offer an astonishingly intimate portrait of the state of motherhood today. Mommy Wars is a book by and for and about the real experts on motherhood and hard work: the women at home, in the office, on the job every day of their lives. Including these essays: “Neither Here nor There” by Sandy Hingston “The Mother Load” by Terri Minsky “Sharks and Jets” by Page Evans “Baby Battle” by Susan Cheever “Guilty” by Dawn Drzal “The Donna Reed Syndrome” by Lonnae O’Neal Parker “Mother Superior” by Catherine Clifford “Good Enough” by Beth Brophy “Big House, Little House, Back House, Barn” by Lois R. Shea “What Goes Unsaid” by Sydney Trent “I Hate Everybody” by Leslie Lehr “Before; After” by Molly Jong-Fast “I Do Know How She Does It” by Ann Misiaszek Sarnoff “Red Boots and Cole Haans” by Monica Buckley Price “Working Mother, Not Guilty” by Sara Nelson “Feminism Meets the Free Market” by Jane Smiley “Happy” by Anne Marie Feld “I Never Dreamed I’d Have So Many Children” by Lila Leff “On Being a Radical Feminist Stay-at-Home Mom” by Inda Schaenen “Being There” by Reshma Memon Yaqub “Russian Dolls” by Veronica Chambers “Peace and Carrots” by Carolyn Hax “Unprotected” by Natalie Smith Parra “Julia” by Anna Fels “On Balance” by Jane Juska “My Baby’s Feet Are Size 13” by Iris Krasnow

Through a series of focus group interviews and an analysis of the media and popular culture, Mothers Work examines the institution of motherhood and the arenas in which mothering occurs. MichelleNapierski-Prancl explores shared and divergent experiences, perspectives, lives, and challenges through the voices of experts on the topic of motherhood: the mothers themselves. Mothers Work analyzes how mothers feel about themselves, each other, and the culture that situates them against one another.

Single mom Rachel Gibson seriously needs a break. Between an absent ex-husband, rowdy twin boys, and running her own work-from-home business, her candle isn't just burning at both ends, it's a full-blown puddle of wax. She's the go-to girl for other entrepreneurs, handling all the tasks they dread. Social media posts? She's got it. Website updates? She's on it. Light bookkeeping? She loves it. Thank goodness Rachel’s about to get a reprieve, as her former in-laws plan to whisk her boys away for a summer of fun at the family lake house. But when her ex backs out at the last minute, she finds herself in a pickle. Even though she's drowning in to-dos, she's horrible at saying no—especially when it comes to providing some stability for her kids. Once Rachel arrives at the lake house, she struggles to keep up with work and balance the demands of family, all the while fending off pesky new feelings for her ex-brother-in-law. It’s just another messy complication added to the dumpster fire of her life. Then again, anything is possible when she's out of office... Don't miss these other laugh-out-loud rom-coms from Christina Hovland: * There's Something About Molly * April May Fall

Molly Princeton hasn’t met the right guy. Yes, she’s a dating coach, but she’s also a single mom with a rocky relationship history. She may be able to help others find love, but she doesn’t really need it in her life. Happiness doesn’t require falling in love. Winning a matchmaker competition, however, requires being part of a couple. And darn it, she needs to win this one. That’s when she sets her sights on Gavin Frank—the one man she would absolutely never fall in love with. Gavin is her nemesis, her best friend’s ex, and yeah, okay, he’s sexy as sin. He’s also off-limits. But she’s out of other options. Plus, Gavin could use a fake relationship to keep his meddling mother from setting up blind dates with every available woman in the Mile High City. There’s no way he’d fall for Molly. None. Nada. The two quickly learn there’s a thin line between hate and love, and she finds herself tipping onto the wrong side. For the first time, she doesn’t have all the answers. What the heck is she supposed to do next? Lucky for her, Gavin realizes there’s something about Molly he can’t resist... Don't miss these other laugh-out-loud rom-coms from Christina Hovland: * Rachel, Out of Office * April May Fall

Now in paperback, the provocative book that has ignited fiery debate and created a dialogue among women about the state of motherhood today. In THE MOMMY MYTH, Susan Douglas and Meredith Michaels turn their 'sharp, funny, and fed-up prose' (San Diego Union Tribune) toward the cult of the new momism, a trend in Western culture that suggests that women can only achieve contentment through the perfection of mothering. Even so, the standards of this ideal remain out of reach, no matter how hard women try to 'have it all'. THE MOMMY MYTH skilfully maps the distance travelled from the days when THE FEMININE MYSTIQUE demanded more for women than keeping house and raising children, to today's not-so-subtle pressure to reverse this trend. A must-read for every woman.

New York Times Bestseller The internationally syndicated radio host celebrates a group of critically important yet usually overlooked women—stay-at-home moms—and offers them words of inspiration and wisdom. “I’m scared out of my mind.” Dr. Laura hears this frequently from women who know that staying home to raise their children is the right thing for their family. Building on the principles developed during her long career as a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Dr. Laura provides a wealth of advice and support as well as compassion and inspiration to help them attain this goal. She pays special attention to the outrageous fact that stay-at-home moms are actually controversial! Dr. Laura offers a profound and unique understanding of how important it is for many mothers to raise their own children, and how stay-at-home moms benefit society.

April Davis totally has her life in order. Ha! Not really. Yes, she's the Calm Mom--a social influencer with a reputation for showing moms how to stay calm and collected through yoga--but behind the scenes, she's barely holding it all together. Raising tiny humans alone is exhausting, but that's just the chewed-up cherry on the melted sundae of her life. Her kids aren't behaving, her husband left her for his skydiving instructor, and her top knot proves she hasn't showered in days.Then a live video of the "always calm" April goes viral...and she's most definitely not. Enter Jack Gibson, April's contact at the media conglomerate that has purchased April's brand. The too-sexy-for-his-own good Jack will help clean up April's viral mess, and even work with her to expand her influence, but toddler tea parties and a dog with a penchant for peeing on his shoes were definitely not part of the deal.Now April's calm has jumped ship quicker than her kids running from their vegetables. Not to mention, the sparks flying between her and Jack have her completely out of her depth. Forget finding her calm--April's going to need a boatload of margaritas just to find her way back to herself again.Each book in the Mommy Wars series is STANDALONE:* Rachel, Out of Office* There's Something About Molly* April May Fall* Everything's Fine, Emmaline

From the creator of the popular blog Mommy Shorts comes a “hilarious and comforting” look at real-world motherhood (New York Times bestselling author, Jill Smokler). Ilana Wiles is not a particularly good mother. She’s not a particularly bad mother either. Like most of us, she’s somewhere in between. And she has some surprisingly good advice about navigating life as an imperfect parent. In this witty and loving homage to the every-parent, Wiles suggests that they having the best child-rearing experience of all. Using Wiles’s signature infographics and photographs to illustrate her personal and hilarious essays on motherhood, The Mommy Shorts Guide to Remarkably Average Parenting is an honest book that celebrates the fun of being a mom.

At 22, Leslie Morgan Steiner seemed to have it all: a Harvard diploma, a glamorous job at Seventeen magazine, a downtown New York City apartment. Plus a handsome, funny, street-smart boyfriend who adored her. But behind her façade of success, this golden girl hid a dark secret. She'd made a mistake shared by millions: she fell in love with the wrong person. At first Leslie and Conor seemed as perfect together as their fairy-tale wedding. Then came the fights she tried to ignore: he pushed her down the stairs of the house they bought together, poured coffee grinds over her hair as she dressed for a critical job interview, choked her during an argument, and threatened her with a gun. Several times, he came close to making good on his threat to kill her. With each attack, Leslie lost another piece of herself. Gripping and utterly compelling, Crazy Love takes you inside the violent, devastating world of abusive love. Conor said he'd been abused since he was a young boy, and love and rage danced intimately together in his psyche. Why didn't Leslie leave? She stayed because she loved him. Find out for yourself if she had fallen truly in love – or into a psychological trap. Crazy Love will draw you in -- and never let go.