Silicon Valley Moms Blog

Testimony by Anita Shreve: A Silicon Valley Moms Group Book Club

This month, for Silicon Valley Moms Group bloggers' monthly book club, we read a novel that many of us, as mothers, found tough to read. But probably every mother should read it. And their teenagers too - especially their teenagers.

Join in as Silicon Valley Moms Group bloggers discuss the book Testimony by Anita Shreve.

• DC Metro Moms Blog's Amy G. leads us off with hoping she has done enough
• Wife and Mommy from Wife and Mommy thinks of all the moments she knew her life would never be the same
• Jennifer from Connect with your Teens discusses the ramifications and repercussions of teenage drinking
• Melanie from Tales from the Crib forecasts the future
• Bonggamom from Finding Bonggamom remembers temptation
• The Fabulous Miss S from Fabulous Miss S screamed in her head "No! Don't do it!"
• Silicon Valley Diva from Blog on the Wall shudders when she thinks back to her teenage years
• Kim from Passion & Art says no one asks to be raped
• Chefdruck from Chefdruck Musings gives her own testimony
• Jessica from It's My Life thinks about when the best isn't the best after all
• Robin from Who's the Boss gives her testimony
• Gayle from Everyday I Write the Book reviews Testimony
• Christina from The Carpool Reader goes through the evolution of a marriage
• Linsey from Me Too You is glad she got caught

More posts will be put up throughout the day on our writer's personal sites, so be sure to check back to follow along.

.... and if you have a post up on YOUR personal site on this topic, please leave a comment here and we will add your link!

About the book - from the publisher Hachette Book Group:

At a New England boarding school, a sex scandal is about to break. Even more shocking than the sexual acts themselves is the fact that they were caught on videotape. A Pandora's box of revelations, the tape triggers a chorus of voices--those of the men, women, teenagers, and parents involved in the scandal--that details the ways in which lives can be derailed or destroyed in one foolish moment.

Writing with a pace and intensity surpassing even her own greatest work, Anita Shreve delivers in TESTIMONY a gripping emotional drama with the impact of a thriller. No one more compellingly explores the dark impulses that sway the lives of seeming innocents, the needs and fears that drive ordinary men and women into intolerable dilemmas, and the ways in which our best intentions can lead to our worst transgressions.

Past Silicon Valley Moms Group Book Clubs have included:

• Comfort Food by Kate Jacobs
• Much to Your Chagrin by Suzanne Guilette
  
• It Started with Pop-Tarts by Lori Hanson
• Who By Fire by Diana Spechler
• The White Trash Moms Handbook by Michelle Lamar
• Writing Motherhood by Lisa Garrigues
• The Vaccine Book by Dr. Robert W. Sears
• The Other Mother by Gwendolen Gross

What's Cooking - A Silicon Valley Moms Group Book Club on "Comfort Food" by Kate Jacobs

There are quite a lot of foodies among us, but we are also readers, writers, mothers, friends, colleagues...rivals, people who are searching for themselves?

Today, Silicon Valley Moms Group bloggers are enjoying our monthly book club, eating...and discussing the book Comfort Food by Kate Jacobs.

• Chicago Moms Blog's Serena leads us off with some food for the soul
• Chefdruck from Chefdruck Musings reflects on her comfort food evolutions
• Bonggamom from Finding Bonggamom was surprised by reincarnations
• Jenn from Kids and a Keyboard steps outside her comfort zone
• Robyn from Who's The Boss asks if you're passionate about your job
• MamaNeena from The Carpool Reader takes comfort in the simple things
  
• Silicon Valley Diva from Blog on the Wall talks about her (dis)comfort with some French food
• Jennifer from Connect with your Teens combines work with kids
• Melanie from Tales from the Crib is finding comfort
• Kim from Passion & Art is happy to be enjoying her Vietnamese comfort food
• Rose from It's My Life wonders if applying childhood labels translate to grown-up characteristics
• Roxane from Rox and Roll on comfort food
  
• Nicole from Not Just a Working Mom says Mmmmm.....
  
• Stacy from Laptop TV Mom says pass the cream of mushroom soup
  
• Amy from Occupation Mommy asks what's your favorite comfort food?
• Jessico from This Mom Rocks It talks about when life gives you lemons
• April from Its All About Balance does some kitchen bonding
• Laughing at Chaos from Never a Dull Moment thinks about her transformation

More posts will be put up throughout the day on our writer's personal sites, so be sure to check back to follow along.

.... and if you have a post up on YOUR personal site on this topic, please leave a comment here and we will add your link!

Past Silicon Valley Moms Group Book Clubs have included:

• Much to Your Chagrin by Suzanne Guilette
  
• It Started with Pop-Tarts by Lori Hanson
  
• Who By Fire by Diana Spechler
• The White Trash Moms Handbook by Michelle Lamar
• Writing Motherhood by Lisa Garrigues
• The Vaccine Book by Dr. Robert W. Sears
• The Other Mother by Gwendolen Gross

Comfort Food: Join us for Silicon Valley Moms Group's next Book Club on Wednesday, May 27th

Even though some of us are trying to fit into swimsuits for the summer, we are also reading the book Comfort Food by Kate Jacobs. Join us Wednesday, May 27th as we discuss our own comfort food for our next book club.

About Comfort Food: A letter to readers from author Kate Jacobs: How wonderful it is to sit down at the table with friends and with family to share a good meal! Perhaps a bottle of wine. Certainly, in my case, a slice of rich chocolate cake. The power of food to bring people together is something so central to our lives that the very act of eating can provide not only physical nourishment but emotional sustenance as well. And to these special dishes – some are regional, some are cultural, some are simply cherished tastes since childhood – we give a name: comfort food.

Our Embarrassing Stories - A Silicon Valley Moms Blog Book Club on Much to Your Chagrin by Suzanne Guillette

Ever been embarrassed? Nah, we didn't think so. Well, we have and, after reading this book, we're ready to share our embarrassing stories with you...maybe...possibly...although, frankly, we already have.

Today, Silicon Valley Moms Group bloggers are having our monthly book club, discussing the book Much to Your Chagrin: A Memoir of Embarrassment by Suzanne Guillette.

• Silicon Valley Moms Blog's Erica leads us off
• MamaNeena from The Carpool Reader tells her embarrassing birth story
• Robyn from Who's The Boss recounts a memorable shopping trip pre-mommyhood
• Bonggamom from Finding Bonggamom asks if you are a scamster, shy or shameless
• Chefdruck from Chefdruck Musings has fun playing with writing in the second person, determining that you shouldn't mix business with pleasure
• Rose from It's My Life tells one ambitious blogger's embarrassing tale
• Nicole from Not Just a Working Mom relates embarrassing moment #287
• Marinka from Motherhood in NYC has engages in mortification Monday
• Amy from Occupation Mommy thinks about kids developing the sense of embarrassment
• Jennifer from Connect with your Teens thinks about different levels of embarrassment
• Stacy from Laptop TV Mom decides she is a private person
• Roxane from Rox and Roll believes there is such a thing as TMI
• Rebecca from Life with Boys is SO embarrassed
• Heather from I Want a Book Deal has a wealth of embarrassing stories
• Melanie from Tales from the Crib asks aren't we all in this together?
• Fabulous Miss S from Fabulous Miss S points out that it happens to all of us

More posts will be put up throughout the day on our writer's personal sites, so be sure to check back to follow along. Tell YOUR embarrassing story here today!

.... and if you have a post up on YOUR personal site on this topic, please leave a comment below and we will add your link!




About the book:

In May 2005, twenty-nine-year-old writer and recent MFA graduate Suzanne Guillette was on the verge of transformation. With the coming of spring, she had fallen in love with New York again and had finally broken up with Ondra, her sexy, long-distance boyfriend via a transatlantic phone call and the invaluable help of a Czech-English dictionary. She had just signed on with a handsome, enthusiastic literary agent named Jack and was beginning work on her first book—a clever collection of other people's most embarrassing moments. Admittedly a far cry from the important journalistic tomes on human rights and her time in Africa she had envisioned writing throughout graduate school. But according to Jack, it "could be huge." The responses she received from countless friends, family, and fellow New Yorkers ranged from mortifying bodily function mishaps and outrageous sexual gaffes to workplace chagrin and cringe-worthy dating humiliations. Immensely entertaining, to be sure, but Suzanne slowly started to observe that all of the stories were somewhat superficial, at least when compared to the deeper reasons one might be embarrassed in the first place.

EmbarrASSment - Much to your chagrin: a memoir of embarrassment

We've all had embarrassing moments. Middle school seems to be the hotbed of blush-worthy moments for me. I copped to one of my mine in a post I wrote for Silicon Valley Moms Blog last week. In seventh grade when I had on my favorite pink dress, a boy I liked lifted up my skirt in front of what felt like the whole school -- revealing my shocking red undies to all. He thought it was funny. I still remember blushing a shade darker than my panties and hiding in the girl's bathroom. 

As an adult, embarrassment still rears its ugly head. I once asked a very senior colleague if he would write a letter of recommendation for me. He said no and all I could think was how I wanted to stuff the question back in my mouth and escape from his office by sliding under the crack in his door. If there is a word for something just beyond embarrassment, that's what I felt. 

Until recently, I had never thought too much about embarrassment or what we might learn from it. Reading Suzanne Guillette's book, Much to your chagrin: a memoir of embarrassment, was mostly a fun bit of escapist reading for me. But there was definitely a dose of "made ya think" too. The main character (who is also the author) is in the midst of trying to write a book that is a collection of people's most embarrassing stories. As she gathers their tales, she stumbles into countless embarrassing moments of her own.

The Inevitable Birth Stories Discussion

Whenever a group of mothers get together, eventually the topic of childbirth comes up. I don't know what guys talk about as a group, especially in an overnight getaway type of situation - probably sports or Myth Busters and not the day his child was born - but for women, well, mothers, it inevitably comes around to our birth stories. Where your water broke and, before that, your obsession with grabbing a jar of pickles whenever you were at the grocery store so that, in the event that your water broke there in the frozen food aisle, you could accidentally drop the jar on the floor to avoid the embarrassment felt upon fluid gathering in a puddle at your feet. Not that you ever had the opportunity to do that, because your water broke, predictably, at home on your new white Pottery Barn (non-leather) couch, the one time, of course, that you neglected to put that towel down to protect it, just in case. How you had two failed induction attempts (pursued because your baby was so big), followed by a c-section, for which your husband was the one freaking out the night before, being squeemish and fearful of the sight of blood, while you - the one who was actually going to go under the knife and have the major surgery the next morning - calmed him down and then laughed when the nurses took one look at him, said "we've got one of those," and hailed a wheelchair...for HIM. Why all three of your babies - twins first who were born 9 weeks early and then a single baby who was on time, but born very ill with pulmonary hypertension - spent a month in the NICU and how you spent the dark nights during that month at home, pumping milk and, once the bottle was in the freezer for the day that your babies could actually drink that "liquid gold," calling the NICU night nurse and asking "how are they/is she doing?"

Body Image: Ours and Our Kids' - A book club for It Started With Pop Tarts

On Tuesday March. 10, Deep South Moms Blog is hosting, as the writers of Silicon Valley Moms Blog hold a book club for It Started With Pop-Tarts, by author Lori Hanson.  We're looking at body images of ourselves and our kids. Take a look at what we're saying:

• Deep South Moms Blog's Christina Y. leads us off
• Bonggamom from Bonggamom Finds is thinking about pop-tarts
• Chefdruck from Chefdruck Musings ate only half and melted away
• Jenn from Kids and a Keyboard is not a fan of pop-tarts, but that didn't stop her
• Fiona from MommyVents looks at over commitment as a sign of low self-esteem
• Fabulous Miss S from Fabulous Miss S says this book fell into her lap at a rather precarious moment in her life
• Rebecca from Life With Boys saw survey results that opened her eyes
• Erica from wellthoughtoutspot is looking for a way to pass on healthy notions of body image to her kids
• Jessica from It's My Life wonders will they grow up to love their bodies

More posts will be put up throughout the day on our writer's personal sites, so be sure to check back to follow along.

.... and if you have a post up on YOUR personal site on this topic, please leave a comment below and we will add your link!

CLICK HERE TO COMMENT ON THE POST AT THE DEEP SOUTH MOMS BLOG 

It Started With Pop-Tarts: Silicon Valley Moms Group's next book club will happen Tuesday, March 10

This week is National Eating Disorder Awareness Week and we at Silicon Valley Moms Group are tackling this important (and often secretive) issue in our next book club, featuring the book It Started With Pop-Tarts, by self-published author Lori Hanson. Join us Tuesday, March 10th as we discuss how eating disorders and body images effect us as mothers and as women.

About It Started With Pop-Tarts: It Started With Pop-Tarts... at the age of 14. Lori Hanson's bulimia was at its worst during college and as a young career woman starting to climb the corporate ladder. After a bout with counseling in her twenties Hanson looked for ways to heal on her own. She discovered the power of the sub-conscious mind and her alternative path to healing began. Hanson's story shares the grim realities of a life obsessed sprinkled with humor and inspiration. And most importantly five key strategies with practical steps to help readers recover from eating disorders holistically. It Started With Pop-Tarts is a Moms Choice Award 2009 Silver Recipient.

Read along with us: Visit Amazon to buy the book today and get ready to discuss with us on Tuesday, March 10th. See you at book club!

Past Silicon Valley Moms Group Book Clubs have included:

• Who By Fire by Diana Spechler
• The White Trash Moms Handbook by Michelle Lamar
• Writing Motherhood by Lisa Garrigues
• The Vaccine Book by Dr. Robert W. Sears
• The Other Mother by Gwendolen Gross

Guilt and Rescue - A Book Club for Who By Fire

 On Monday Jan. 26, Los Angeles Moms Blog is hosting, as the writers of Silicon Valley Moms Blog hold a book club for Who By Fire, a novel by Diana Spechler.  Themes of guilt and rescue abound. Take a look at what we're saying:

• LA Moms Blog's Florinda leads us off, talking about family to the rescue...like it or not
• Meghan from Meghan's Mindless Muttering says Who By Fire's Jewish guilt had her at hello
• Amy from I Could Cry But I Don't Have the Time thinks about helicopter parenting
• Gayle from Every Day I Write the Book reviews Who By Fire

More posts will be put up throughout the day on our writer's personal sites, so be sure to check back to follow along.

.... and if you have a post up on YOUR personal site on this topic, please leave a comment below and we will add your link!

CLICK HERE TO COMMENT ON THE POST AT THE LA MOMS BLOG

Who By Fire: SV Moms Group next Book Club Day is scheduled for Monday, January 26th

Mark your calendars for Monday, January 26th as the writers of Silicon Valley Moms Group discuss the book, Who By Fire, authored by Diana Spechler. New York City Moms Blog, where Diana currently lives, will be hosting. Given what is going on is Israel right now, this is an especially timely read.

About Who By Fire: Bits and Ash were children when the kidnapping of their younger sister Alena, an incident for which Ash blames himself, caused an irreparable family rift. Thirteen years later, Ash is living as an Orthodox Jew in Israel, cutting himself off from his mother, Ellie, and his wild child sister, Bits. But soon he may have to face them again: Alena’s remains have finally been uncovered. Now Bits is traveling across the world in a bold and desperate attempt to bring her brother home and salvage what’s left of their family. Told from the alternating points of view of the three family members, Who By Fire is a searing commentary on guilt, grief, and the inescapable bonds of family from a fresh and extremely talented new voice in American fiction.

Read along with us: Visit Amazon or Target (Who By Fire has been selected as a Target Breakout Book) to buy the book today and get ready to discuss with us on Monday, January 26th. See you at book club!

Past Silicon Valley Moms Group Book Clubs have included:

• The White Trash Moms Handbook by Michelle Lamar
• Writing Motherhood by Lisa Garrigues
• The Vaccine Book by Dr. Robert W. Sears
• The Other Mother by Gwendolen Gross