cover image Mommies Who Drink: Sex, Drugs, and Other Distant Memories of an Ordinary Mom

Mommies Who Drink: Sex, Drugs, and Other Distant Memories of an Ordinary Mom

Brett Paesel, . . Warner, $23.99 (320pp) ISBN 978-0-446-57873-8

Paesel would love to spend "an evening doing half a gram of coke in the back of a limo with her girlfriends" and still craves "a stranger to fuck me blind in a parking lot after loading me up on margaritas and Thai stick"—only she's got a husband, a baby and a toddler waiting for her at home. Paesel couldn't care less if other mothers have careers (she herself is an actress who's appeared on Six Feet Under and Mr. Show ) or stay home with the kids. She's got bigger problems—like, what's happened to all the parties? This collection of short sketches opens with a trip to an L.A. prenatal yoga class, where "gorgeous actresses" with "little round bellies" brag about how much birthing pain they plan to endure. With enough drugs, Paesel actually enjoys childbirth—but full-time parenting is another story. Luckily, she's got a foursome of girlfriends who spend Friday afternoons at the local bar together, doing a reality check on all the mothering guilt trips they've had to endure all week. This is Seinfeld but raunchy and L.A. with a full cast of potty-mouthed moms. No wonder it's already optioned by HBO. (Aug.)