#IMomSoHard - Kristin Hensley & Jen Smedley

I first learned of Kristin and Jen in my heady days of Facebook (I'm currently in recovery - two years clean). I ran across one of their, I Mom So Hard videos shortly after the birth of my second child and laughed in the kind of sleep deprived delirium only a new baby can give you.

Last year me and my two Tennessee besties got to see these moms live and it was also a hilarious night, despite the fact I had to leave a little early to get back to relieve my teenage babysitter on a weeknight when my husband was out of town for work travel (I can attest that I really really needed that night out).

I was very tickled when my friend's husband lucked into a copy of this book through a work connection and decided to snag it for my (and your) enjoyment. I read it on the plane to and from California on a work trip. I laughed out loud. I nodded along in agreement. And mostly, I thanked heaven for honest women who aren't afraid to tell it like it is - with a side of humor (women ARE funny, just accept it).

From their devotion to each other, to their no topics barred approach to motherhood, Kristin and Jen are relate-able and reliable. So here's to all the moms out there momming so hard. I see you and I appreciate you. And you should read this book because you deserve a laugh and a moment to yourself (even if it is in the pantry alone where your kids can't find you).

3.75/5 Stars. 

If Beale Street Could Talk - James Baldwin

There's a terrifying sense of stillness woven into the pages of If Beale Street Could Talk. There is no momentum even as the characters change in ways that defy the inertia of the overall plot. You want, you beg, the story to move forward. To find out if Tish is able to save Fonny from a script that every person in the story seems to have already read.

You see, nineteen year old Tish is trying desperately to save her fiance Fonny from the legal system. A system that allowed, well encouraged, a policeman to frame and arrest Fonny for a brutal rape of a woman he'd never met. Fonny's real crime was standing up to this policeman on another day, at another time, in a way that stripped the policeman of his power. And when it comes down to it, the policeman remains intent on righting this "wrong" and showing Fonny who really has the power.

So a newly pregnant Tish must grapple with the hefty price, both emotionally and in cash money, of trying to free Fonny from the system. The gross injustice of his plight makes it no cheaper. The chance for a "speedy trial" ingrained in our constitution is not enough. The efforts of Tish's entire family are not enough. The fact that Tish's mother is willing to travel to Puerto Rico to visit the victim (a victim in many ways - including being used as a pawn against Fonny) isn't enough.

The ripple of injustice courses up and down the generations of both Tish and Fonny's families as we wait and wait and wait for anything to change the circumstances. We wait as Fonny waits, as time warps and seems to lose it's meaning.

Because the lack of pacing in the book, the utter stagnation, is the thing that makes this a very uncomfortable read but also is the essence of the book itself.

4/5 Stars.

Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators - Ronan Farrow

If I didn't know Ronan Farrow was a real person I would swear this was a work of brilliant fiction. That Catch and Kill involves real people and the lengths to which slime balls go to protect their reputation and their brotherhood of slime balls is shocking, disheartening, maddening, and disgusting.

Apparently the fact that Harvey Weinstein was a misogynistic, predatory a-hole was a well known "secret" in Hollywood (that's code for if someone makes enough money they can really get away with anything). Typically he would walk over women, assault women, be pushy with women, and anyone who got sideways of his endeavors found themselves without movie scripts, production offers, etc. But because he held the purse strings, employed people, promoted people, created stars, people looked the other way. People who couldn't were shown the exit door and asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement. This isn't right. It's certainly not justice.

So when Ronan started following a lead that became a story that became an avalanche, an entire system was put into motion to try to stop the reporting. Men whose conscience balked under the weight of similar allegations, organizations worried about their own internal practices around predators. This led to international security firms following Ronan to out his sources (sorry Jonathan that you were too boring to follow, it's adorable).

I deeply appreciated the vulnerability and empathy Ronan showed throughout and that he didn't shy away how the reporting affected him as a person. He focused on sources and facts to remain objective but also let himself feel the way he felt when the facts and evidence laid bare the truth. Our country is better for this kind of reporting, and for Harvey Weinstein and the men (and women) who believed their power, prestige, and money would allow them to get away with this heinous behavior to be held accountable.

Also, I would read any book that has a cameo by Pundit. 

5/5 Stars.