ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Sh*tty Mom is the ultimate parenting guide, written by four moms who have seen it all. It's about how to survive babies, and what they grow into: children. As hilarious as it is universal, each chapter presents a common parenting scenario with advice on how to get through it in the easiest and most efficient way possible. With chapters such as "How to Sleep Until Nine A.M. Every Weekend" and "When Seeing an Infant Triggers a Mental Illness That Makes You Want to Have Another Baby," as well as a Sh*tty Mom quiz, this is a must-have, laugh-out-loud-funny book for the sh*tty parent in all of us.
To our moms: JoAnn Kilmartin, Gloria Moline,
Irene Ybarbo, and Ann Knight
This book would not have come to be were it not for the brilliant insights of the indefatigably wondrous Yfat Reiss Gendell. Her stellar team at Foundry-Stephanie Abou, the foreign rights director; Rachel Hecht, the foreign rights associate; and editorial assistants Cecilia Campbell Westlind and Erica Walker-was also invaluable. Much gratitude is owed to the incomparable Madeleine Morel, who brought us to Yfat and made this partnership possible.
We were lucky to find a kindred spirit in our editor at Abrams, Jennifer Levesque. Her team-managing editor David Blatty, art director Sarah Gifford, designer Kara Strubel, and publicist Claire Bamundo-are consummate professionals.
Many thanks as well to the fantastically imaginative Christoph Niemann, whose cover illustration brought Sh*tty Mom to life.
We would also like to thank the following:
Laurie Kilmartin:
Thanks to my dad, Ron, my kid (name withheld so he can distance himself from me), and the sitters, Klare and Kathleen. Neither of the babysitting chapters is about you.
Karen Moline:
My magical son, Emmanuel, for giving me countless new ways to mess up. Thanks to Sara, Kassaundra, and Diane, the babysitters whose college loans are now smaller because of the many hours they put in, and moms deluxe Deborah Feingold, Maggie Alderson, and Eve Blouin, who bring laughter into our world even when life isn't always funny.
Alicia Ybarbo:
My partner in parenting, Mark Zimmerman: you are such a loving husband and father. I thank you and love you. And to Goose and Scootie: nothing makes me happier than being your mommy.
Mary Ann Zoellner:
My husband, Alexander; and my two little girls, Beanie and Pinkie. Your humor, support, and love make each day better than the last.
