You guys, I had a book published this week! It was super exciting! This is the 4th book I have had published as co-editor of The HerStories Project, but it’s the one that feels closest to my heart. So Glad They Told Me: Women Get Real About Motherhood is now available for purchase as a paperback or e-book!

This book was inspired by our #SoGladTheyToldMe social media movement and my viral essay from 2015, which you can read here: I’m Glad Someone Told Me. Writing that post literally changed my life; the response was so overwhelming and positive, and launching the social media campaign after its publication was honestly inspiring. I got interviewed on the radio, on TV . . . it was crazy and one of the coolest things ever. So we decided our 4th book would be based on my post and the #SoGladTheyToldMe movement. And well over a year later, a book was born! Here’s what it says on the back cover:

In the increasingly competitive culture of modern motherhood, parenting advice can often be judgmental, unrealistic, or smug. Or sometimes, there isn’t anyone there to offer advice or support. Mothers may feel isolated and lack a support network to provide honest advice, and others may face a barrage of unwarranted, unhelpful tips or warnings.

This collection of essays from 60 mothers will empower and unite parents with real, honest advice from women who have been there. These writers share the advice or support they received—or wish they had—on everything from pregnancy to surviving the first year to parenting teens to empty nest syndrome. Inspired by the viral essay and #SoGladTheyToldMe social media movement, this book aims to change conversations about motherhood by presenting a broader, more realistic, and more balanced image of motherhood so that women will feel less inadequate, adversarial, and isolated. So Glad They Told Me is filled with compassionate, honest advice, and the poignant, painful, and sometimes hilarious truths you wish your best girlfriends had told you about motherhood.

You can see a photo gallery of our contributors sharing excerpts from their essays and messages of advice and support in The HerStories Project’s release day post.

This collection will share advice on surviving the early years of parenting:

And work-life balance:

It speaks to the importance of finding a tribe and being there for other moms:

And being honest with one another:

I hope you all buy this book, and not because I’m one of the editors. (For real, I swear.) I can say it’s amazing because I didn’t write it myself: the words of these 60 women are powerful, honest, funny, and real. The mission of this book is to inspire, unite, and support mothers everywhere with one resounding message: You are not alone. 

This book doesn’t judge, shame, or isolate. The essays aren’t laced with that smug, competitive vibe you sometimes get in the motherhood community. They are honest and inviting, and filled with compassion. Here’s an excerpt from my introduction:

 . . . You will read about pregnancy and birthing realities, breastfeeding mishaps and challenges, special needs diagnoses, grief, single parenting, and the bittersweet pain of letting go of your children. You will laugh until you cry, your heart will ache, and you will feel a kinship with these authors that comes from recognizing a fellow parent warrior in the trenches.

Some of these women share stories about the friends, parents, grandparents, sisters, and doctors who threw them a lifeline when they desperately needed it, and others write about the things they wish they had known but were never told.

You may learn something from many of these stories, and you will recognize yourself in others. Most importantly, reading these honest, real accounts of motherhood will make you realize that you are absolutely not alone, that you are not defective, and that you are enough. For all who are reading this book, we hope you will embrace your own real story of motherhood: it is beautiful, it is valid, and it deserves to be told.

We are grateful to have so many fantastic contributors and a foreword by the incredible Ann Imig, founder of Listen To Your Mother. We would love your support! You can order a paperback or e-book here.

On our release day, we were listed as the #1 new release in motherhood books! 

We would love to keep the momentum going and spread the word. Here are a few things you can do that would mean SO much to us:

• Share the link to the book with friends and family you think might enjoy it, and share on Facebook and Twitter!
• Write a review on Amazon (this one is really helpful to us!!)
• Add the book to your Goodreads want-to-read list
• Bloggers–write a review or share the link on social media with your readers!

I am so thrilled to finally share this book that has been over a year-and-a-half in the making. You can learn more about the project here. I hope you read this book, and it makes you feel less alone, or it makes you laugh, or it makes you remember something about a previous parenting stage that you’d forgotten, or it gives you hope that you’ll survive a stage you’re struggling with. Share it with your mom friends, your mother, your sister, and help spread this positive message that comes when we start getting real about motherhood. You can grab a paperback OR Kindle version here, and thank you SO much for all the love and support you’ve show me throughout the various stages of this project!

xoxo

~Stephanie