Kogan, a freelance writer whose previous memoir, Shutterbabe, was a bestselling account of her work as a war photojournalist, structures her book as a series of connected but thematically disparate essays that have as their locus the birth of her youngest child, Leo, born almost a decade after his next closest sibling. The story of that birth, which includes Kogan sharing a hospital room post-delivery with a rowdy, petulant teenage mom, is one of the strongest and most amusing in this collection. After an all-night parade of loud McDonald's-bearing teens drive an exhausted, 40-year-old Kogan to the brink of hysteria, she begs her roommate to keep it down. "Yo, bitch, I'm just trying to feed my baby" is the response that she gets. A more unpleasant confrontation seems inevitable, yet Kogan's compassion for the girl (whose bravado quickly fades when her newborn starts crying) wins out, and the tale takes a surprising, highly satisfying turn.
Employing the same combination of wry wit and clear-eyed observation, Kogan describes a disastrous week that combined a school vacation, a writing deadline and a vacationing babysitter with an emergency appendectomy (Kogan's) and a bad case of the flu (her entire family's). Another highly entertaining piece details her adventures on the set of the new Star Trek movie, in which her son played the role of "adolescent Spock." Less eventful but richer in emotional turmoil is the essay describing Kogan's relationship with her sensitive pre-teen daughter, Sasha, as seen through the lens of Sasha's desperate desire for a puppy.
Kogan is a wonderfully clear, intelligent writer whose ability to tell a good story is complemented throughout this highly readable book by her skill in keeping some very familiar material (awkward toddler moments, wildly over-involved "other" parents) fresh and novel. Best of all, though, Kogan avoids mawkishness and the over-sharing of overly personal details that are often hallmarks of this type of narrative. All in all, a smart, thoughtful and, yes, very funny read worth every penny of its price.--Debra Ginsberg
Shelf Talker: An excellent addition the new subgenre of witty parenting memoirs written by smart women that offers much more than its title suggests.