I have known Abigail Green since I was working on Writer Mama. In fact, I remember that Abby was instrumental in helping me write one of the chapters for the book, when I just couldn’t seem to nail it myself. The specific, helpful advice she gave has become typical of the kind of insight her students rely on in essay-writing classes she has been teaching for years. And of course, she would not be teaching essay-writing if she was not a seasoned, successful essay writer and journalist herself.
If you would like a taste of Abby’s sassy take on new motherhood, you must check out her new e-book, Mama Insider: Laughing (And Sometimes Crying) All The Way Through Pregnancy, Birth and the First Three Months. I think the title pretty much says it all! Please help me welcome Abby!
About Abigail Green
Abigail Green has been a freelance writer for more than 15 years. She has published over 200 articles and essays in such places as American Baby, Health, and Smithsonian magazine, as well as A Cup of Comfort for New Mothers, Babble.com, and TheBump.com. She also teaches online classes for writers of all levels on how to write and publish personal essays. You can find out more about Abby at http://www.AbigailGreen.com or on her blog, http://www.AbbyOfftheRecord.com, where she writes about parenting, publishing, and life in Baltimore with her husband and two insanely active young boys.
About Mama Insider
I really thought I was prepared to have my first baby. I’d read the books and blogs, seen the movies and reality shows. In my 15+ years as a journalist, I’d even written articles on pregnancy symptoms, babymoons, and co-sleeping. And heaven knows I’d been to enough baby showers. Yet I was still surprised by so much of what I experienced during pregnancy, birth, and my first 3 months as a new mom.
For instance, no one told me that I might get pregnant and not realize it till I was already on my way to a booze-fueled girls’ weekend. Or that there are other insidious symptoms besides morning sickness, such as the dreaded Pregnancy Butt. Or that birthing classes can involve chanting and colorful hand-knit models of the placenta. (Or was that just mine?)
If you want the real scoop on pregnancy, birth, and the first 3 months of motherhood – the good, the bad, and the funny – from one (formerly) new mom to another, you’ve come to the right place. For the past 5+ years, I’ve been chronicling the joy and the craziness on my blog, and have heard from tons of other new moms about what’s on their sleep-deprived minds. I’m here to reassure you that you are not alone. You are not crazy. And you are going to do just fine as a mom. The proof that other people have been through it and survived is in this e-book.
You’ll find out:
- Why you shouldn’t be concerned by the size of your unborn baby’s nose
- What happens when you’re 10 days overdue and your doula goes on vacation
- New moms’ Frequently Asked Questions on such topics as cankles and clueless husbands
- The differences between Nervous Moms and Mellow Moms
- What “me time” looks like once you’re a mom
- How real moms lose the baby weight (hint: it’s not salad and Pilates)
Each of the 23 chapters in this 50-page e-book is short and easy to read while you’re feeding the baby, waiting for the pediatrician, or reheating your cup of coffee for the third time because you’re running on 3 hours sleep and are constantly being interrupted to pump, change diapers, start a load of laundry, or search under the couch for missing pacifiers.
The Very Short Interview
When did you know for sure that you were a writer and that writing would be a major energy focus in your life?
I’ve known I was a writer since I was a little girl writing mystery stories and comic strips on my bedroom floor. But it wasn’t until an internship at a newspaper in college that I started to think I could write for a living. There have been plenty of times I pulled away from freelance writing in frustration and despair, but I always end up coming back to writing. I know I’m a writer at heart, because I can’t NOT write.
Who has always been behind your writing career and who helped pull you up the ladder of success?
That’s easy: my parents. They are both teachers, and inspired in me a love of reading and writing early on. Over the years I have also found support from all sorts of different sources – writers’ groups, writing classes, conferences. I guess the most surprising source of support has been other writers I’ve connected with online, some of whom I’ve never met in person. It’s encouraging and awe-inspiring to me that strangers all over the world will reach out to others with no ulterior motive at all, simply to help out a fellow writer.
What is the most frequent comment you hear about your book (or books) from readers? Tell us a little story about the response to your work.
I get a lot of “you’re such a funny writer” and “I’m so glad I’m not alone.” I don’t get a big head about it because real life — at least mine — is SO much funnier and crazier than anything I could make up. I also love when readers say, “I really appreciate your honesty. You’ve put into words exactly what I feel.” One reader told me that before reading the book she was not enjoying her pregnancy much because she didn’t feel the way she thought a new mom was “supposed to” feel. The book made her laugh and realize her feelings were perfectly normal and nothing to be ashamed of.
And Now, Your Turn
Now it’s your turn. You remember how this works right?
I ask you a question. You answer in the comments for your chance to win a book each day.
Please just respond once, even if you make a typo. 
Answer in the comments in 50-200 words (no less and no more to qualify to win one of today’s books). Please read the complete rules at least once!
Thanks for participating in the Writer Mama Every-Day-In-May Book Giveaway! I hope to see you here every day this month. Bring your friends!
Is there some aspect of the writing life that doesn’t feel the way you thought it was supposed to feel? Is it normal to feel uncomfortable sometimes? How important is it to be able to embrace the ups and downs of the writing life without letting either the highs or the lows throw you off course?
Ready, set, comment!
