Baffled by the moms who seemingly had plenty of time to exercise, serve up home-cooked meals, volunteer, work and straighten their hair, mother of two under two Nikki Oden wanted answers.
“I had no idea what I was doing, and most days, didn’t brush my teeth. I completely lost myself in being ‘Mommy’ and ‘Wife,’” Oden writes in the introduction to her new book, But Definitely Wear Mascara: Hacks to Help You Love Your Mom Life (and Yourself) a Little More.
Chock-full of straight-talking truth-bombs and heartfelt encouragement, Oden normalizes motherhood face-plants and doles out realistic life lessons gleaned from her own “trial and improvement” (notice she doesn’t say “error”) experiences.
“Moms can be incredibly mean to themselves,” Oden says of the guilt and criticism she’s witnessed many working mothers inflict on themselves. Her advice: “Speak to yourself the way you would speak to someone you love.”
Oden walked away from a lucrative career as a lawyer to be a stay-at-home mom before eventually returning to the legal field part time to strike the balance she needed.
“Being a mom is hard. And being a mom with goals and dreams is even harder,” she notes. “All moms struggle with harmonizing what they have to do with what they want to do, and it’s OK to fall down along the way.”
Because no mom has time for a tome, But Definitely Wear Mascara contains short chapters that tackle specific topics, such as The Power of a Morning Routine, Make Yourself a To-Don’t List, Getting Stuff Done When Your Kids Are Home and Perfect, Schmerfect. Readers can dive in where they need to or enjoy Oden’s humorous, conversational style from start to finish.
“How often do you say to yourself, I love my mom life? A lot, hopefully! If, on the other hand, you sometimes feel like motherhood is one long ride on the Hot Mess Express, you’re not alone,” Oden adds.
But Definitely Wear Mascara is filled with honest and accessible advice, told through laugh-out-loud stories from a working mom who gets it. Readers will walk away entertained, inspired and equipped with the tools they need to create what they want to experience in life, love and motherhood.
About the Author
Nikki Oden is a happy wife, mom of two, lawyer, and mom coach who helps working moms battle burnout by teaching them how to own their days and crush their goals —without the mom guilt. She is the founder of Your Ideal Mom Life, host of the Love Your Mom Life podcast and author of But Definitely Wear Mascara: Hacks to Help you Love Your Mom Life (and Yourself) a Little More. Her work has been featured in The Boston Globe, TODAY Parents, CafeMom, KidSpot, Clean Plates and Authority Magazine.
For more information, please visit www.youridealmomlife.com; follow the author on Facebook (Your Ideal Mom Life) and Instagram (nikkioden); or listen to her podcasts at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/love-your-mom-life/id1531383041.
But Definitely Wear Mascara: Hacks to Help You Love Your Mom Life (and Yourself) a Little More
Publisher: Phoenix Advantage Media
Release Date: December 20, 2022
ISBN-13: 979-8987152003
Available from Amazon.com and BN.com
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Reviews, photos, links to previous interviews and Q&As are available upon request.