cover image Be Happy or I'll Scream!: My Deranged Quest for the Perfect Husband, Family and Life

Be Happy or I'll Scream!: My Deranged Quest for the Perfect Husband, Family and Life

Sheri Lynch, . . St. Martin's, $19.95 (216pp) ISBN 978-0-312-34233-3

Parents will love Lynch's faux interview with toddler Olivia: "I don't go to sleep; I pass out," the kid tells her. "And I try to take as many people down with me as I can." Lynch (Hello, My Name Is Mommy ) cleverly captures the angst of child-rearing in this funny memoir. She works while her husband stays at home with their two children, but that doesn't squelch her desire to create a family like those on TV, with their touching moments and meaningful lessons. Thus she gives herself a year to transform her family. The theme peters out, but Lynch's stories are funny enough that readers won't care. Her subjects—the $850 toddler birthday party, the fact that "the first obstacle to hot marital monkey love is the crushing tyranny of one's own children," disastrous family vacations—have all been covered in other parenting memoirs, yet Lynch is so adroit, her material feels fresh. Working moms especially will applaud Lynch's insight: "if I were the one staying home, complete strangers wouldn't stroll up to him and coo: 'I think it's just so neat how your wife takes care of the kids. And she's adorable, too. Aren't you lucky?' " (Mar.)