spruced by marlene

I got the chance to read Okka’s book „Völlig fertig und irre glücklich: Meine ersten Jahre als Mutter“ in advance when I was still heavily pregnant. I’m not sure she knows what a treat that was for me. I locked myself into our living room for a couple of days and didn’t really move, except to get more salted licorice. And tissues. Oh my, how this book made me cry, because what she writes is so true. It also made me laugh a lot, because what she writes is so true. When James would come into the room, I kept blurting out: „I’m not the only one feeling like this!“ Of all of the books I bought or got given on pregnancy and child rearing, Okka’s is the only one I read cover to cover. She doesn’t give a single tip on what foods are good when you’re expecting, or how to get your baby to sleep, or what toys will turn your child into a nuclear physicist. She just writes how it is, with all of the questions, all of the joy, all of the absurd things you want to eat during pregnancy (I repeat: salted licorice). Which made me feel more prepared for motherhood than any help book ever could’ve done. This book is thoughtful and smart, it comforts and cheers you up, and it tells you: it’s alright not to know everything and to feel overwhelmed, to be in a bad mood sometimes and still always be able to enjoy the happiness of having a child. It made me think that I was less alone with it all. And that’s a great good gift of a book. Thank you, Okka.

„Völlig fertig und irre glücklich: Meine ersten Jahre als Mutter“ is out today (in German) and you can get it here.