Dear Ms. Buchanan

I'm always amazed when I write a letter to a person I don't know and she writes back.

This happened last fall with author Andi Buchanan. I wrote to her after finishing her book Mother Shock: Loving Every (Other) Minute of It. I can't remember who recommended this book to me, but 'loving every other minute' of motherhood resonated with me. I had to put the book down (in tears!) and come back to it later several times during the first section on "Mother Shock" in which Ms. Buchanan describes the often painful and overwhelming transition to motherhood. I was pregnant (read: hormonal) at the time and it brought back memories of how terrifying it was to be a mother the first time around.

Ms. Buchanan doesn't dwell only on the difficulties of mothering; she balances both the joys and the tears. I was so moved by her book that I felt compelled to write her, thanking her for such a moving piece of work. Quite unexpectedly, she wrote me back a sweet and gentle letter, wishing me the best with my second round of motherhood and assuring me that with her second child she was able to have the experience of motherhood that she'd dreamed of having with her first child but didn't have.

I wish I had enough money to buy a copy of this book for every mother that I know. Alas, this little plug for an honest book and a generous author will have to suffice.