Catastrophic Happiness

Cat-astrophic Grouchiness

So, my loves, today is the publication date for Catastrophic Happiness! Which I yesterday, in an email, referred to accidentally as Claustrophobic Happiness. [sighs]

I hope you will buy it for yourself, and buy it for your pets and friends and family, and review it on Amazon and Goodreads, because those reviews really, really affect book sales, and they make your marketing and publicity people like you, and I am, as you know, persistently desperate to be liked.

If you want a sample (because you've only known me for 13 years) there's a depressing little excerpt from the book here, at The Manifest-Station.

The generous and brilliant Lindsey Mead reviewed it generously and brilliantly over at Brain, Child, and I am thrilled. I won't spoil it for you, but there is a line with fireflies in it.

And if you want to feel all kvelly and/or indignant, because you are part of my kvelling and indignant family, then you can read the review in the New York Times. (To quote Michael's step-mom: The New York mother-f-ing Times!!!) No, you may not refer to me as "artisanal coop mom," but yes that is a good line.

Meanwhile, in parallel news, it is also the pub date of my friend Asha Dornfest's book Parent Hacks: 134 Genius Shortcuts for Life with Kids, which you should also buy and review, because it is so funny and stylish and helpful. The book is packed full of real-life, tried-and-true fantastic problem-solving ideas for parents from parents, because who else but us even knows what our problems are? Like how to clean up glitter! (With play-dough.) Or how to guarantee that your child's lovey will never be lost forever! (Buy the book and see.) This is going to be one of my go-to new-baby presents, and I only wish I'd had the book myself when the kids were younger.

Birdy read it cover to cover, fascinated and grossed out (maxi-pads have a few too many off-brand uses for her comfort), and she reminded me so much of myself at her age, dorkily reading Heloise's House-Keeping Hints.  

Of course I still have it!

One last thing. I made this Tartine Berry Almond Breakfast Cake for Easter, like a good Jew, and it was perfect. I used frozen cherries instead of berries, and did need to bake it much longer, but man oh man. It costs about $1000 to make, and it weighs about 15 pounds. So worth it. Dense and buttery and marzipany and fruity, with a thick, crunchy crumb topping to weep over. Mm.

This is an unflattering angle.

Enjoy your week, darlings. Thank you for being here with me.

xo