Just a Busy Season: Essays on Motherhood, an Unexpected Comedy

Wolfe (Birdie & Harlow), a comedian and mother of two, sheds light on the absurdities and indignities of modern parenting in this irreverent and insightful essay collection. She opens with a detailed recollection of letting her toddler, who needed to pee but refused to use the toilet, urinate in her toilet-paper-covered hands during a road trip. Also explored is the weight of being a lifelong “overthinker/anxious worrier”; after “giving up” anxiety as a New Year’s resolution, she confuses heartburn for a heart attack and goes to the ER. She covers many relatable motherhood experiences, like her struggles with breastfeeding, the crushing worry she felt leaving her kids behind to go on a trip, and the frustration of being bombarded with unsolicited parenting advice while pregnant (“If you think you’re tired now, just you wait”). With sharp humor and a keen eye for detail, Wolfe lays bare the complexities of juggling motherhood, career, and marriage. Lively prose puts a fresh spin on oft-discussed parenting experiences, such as when she describes being moved to the operating table for a C-section: “I was lifted in my sheets like a human taco.” These candid reflections will land with busy moms. (Apr.)