My Review of Rockabye by Rebecca Woolf

Here's my review of Rockabye. I also posted this at the Dear Reader book review blog.

Rockabye: From Wild to Child, the memoir of the first two years of motherhood of party girl turned mother Rebecca Woolf is filled with pearls of wisdom. It reads like the blogs it was likely crafted from, but it flows well.
I found it particularly inspiring at the end when Woolf encourages all mothers to not use being a mother as an excuse to stifle their passions. ”Bringing a child into the world shouldn’t mean locking ourselves out of our own. Nothing will be lost on those who explore their passions limitlessly.” She exhorts all mothers to make room for their own happiness, “Happiness is the most underrated accessory to success. It is paramount to be inspired by life in order to be an inspiration to a child.” Woolf inspires without being preachy.
Woolf also does a great job of capturing a mother’s angst in finding mommy friends to bond with as well as describing her struggles with coming to terms with her son Archer’s special needs. She resents needing the help of “ists” to help him learn how to speak. She also describes some beautiful moments playing with her son. Her love for him and their special bond are palpable, a real celebration of the connection between mother and child.
Rockabye is more than a mommy memoir though. It is a also a chronicle of her developing relationship with the father of her child. She honestly and fearlessly describes their marriage as it morphs from a budding romance to sharing the burden of parenthood together.
Rockabye is a brutally honest tale that left me inspired to continue capturing my own parenting and marital experiences. I loved it, devoured it, and filled pages of my notebooks with its quotes. I give it five stars.