“Confessions of a Scary Mommy” by Jill Smokler – The Truth Behind Motherhood

When those of us who aren’t parents are asked to imagine what motherhood is like, most of us think of emotionally-fulfilling moments between a mother and her baby. We may imagine the baby sleeping soundly in her arms, or perhaps laughing cutely and learning to speak his/her first words. 

However, as Jill Smokler would have you know in Confessions of a Scary Mommy, these stages of motherhood are very few and far in-between… most of the time is actually spent in a peculiar purgatory. 

In her book, Smokler tries to explore the whole concept of motherhood and what it really is like for a mother to be raising children, and not to mention a husband, who, according to the book, is perhaps the biggest baby of all time.

Smokler dispels virtually all the imagined ideals we had in regards to motherhood, showing us that even the best of mothers struggle quite often, and perhaps even sometimes wonder what on God’s green Earth drove them into such a life, despite loving their children above all else. Jill doesn’t exactly complain though or try to put the reader in his or her place, claiming that she knows the truth while others do not. 

On the contrary, her approach to the whole ordeal is quite humor-centered, admitting that all the successes and failures during that part of life are nothing but human nature, and one would be hard-pressed to find parents for whom all went smoothly.

Though I am not a parent, I still found a lot to relate to in Jill’s book. Her descriptions of various common child behaviors really helped to put my own childhood into perspective, to see what it was (is) like from my mother’s perspective rather than my own. 

During that process of illumination I practically couldn’t stop laughing; Smokler shamelessly admits to countless faults and secret thoughts mothers have, a hilarious fire that was fueled by additional anonymous confession from mothers all over the world. 

All in all, If you are a mother and want to have some kind of reference as to what motherhood truly is like, then I would definitely recommend reading this book for some perspective, although I would advise taking it as gospel. 

If you are not a parent, then I still recommend that you check this out, regardless of whether or not you plan on having children in the future. Being raised by parents (whether foster or biological) is a big and natural part of life for a majority of people, meaning that you will certainly be able to relate to the interesting take on motherhood in one way or another. 

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Jill Smokler Jill Smokler is the writer of numerous bestsellers, including Motherhood Comes Naturally, and has centered her life on the topic of parenting. On top of opening a place where mothers could anonymously share their true thoughts and feelings on the matter, Smokler’s works have appeared in numerous esteemed publications and shows, including The New York Times and CNN.