A review by nattygsmith
Catastrophic Happiness: Finding Joy in Childhood's Messy Years by Catherine Newman

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

Ever since I had a child of my own, I have steered clear of parenting memoirs. I'm not sure why. Maybe it's a fear of what might feel like judgmental advice, or of the kind of saccharine sentiments that follow parents around, or an absurdly confident feeling that I already know what anyone else might have to tell me. I am so glad that I suspended my skepticism and read this book. Newman threads the needle between hilarious journaling of her children's hi-jinx and vulnerable reflection on the emotionally fraught roller-coaster of parenthood. There's an earnestness to her writing that feels par for the course when writing about raising children—but in my opinion, when it becomes sentimental, it's for good and entirely relatable reasons. There was a refreshing lack of judgment, and an honesty about the aspirational values parents might hold versus their family's daily reality. She captured so many of the absurdities of parenting a small child, and also so much of the bittersweet love, hope, and pain that come with it. I may have to revisit this book in a few years when my own child is older.