Synopses & Reviews
Saturday Night Live veteran Julia Sweeney’s “endearing series of true tales from parenthood’s front lines” (
O, The Oprah Magazine) is a funny, smart tour de force that reads like a conversation with your best friend.
Julia Sweeney is a critically acclaimed writer and performer of her one-woman shows, and she also writes brilliant, candid, hilarious essays. The past few years have provided her with some rich material. In her delightful memoir If It’s Not One Thing, It’s Your Mother, she writes about adopting a Chinese girl named Mulan (“After the movie?”); The Food Network; her mother-in-law (who candidly reveals a story that most people would keep a secret); knitting; being adopted by a dog; and meeting Mr. Right through an email from a complete stranger who wrote, “Desperately Seeking Sweeney-in-Law.” She recounts how she explained the facts of life to nine-year-old Mulan, a story that became a wildly popular TED talk and YouTube video.
Described as “a writer and a woman you want to take to your heart” (David Ansen, Newsweek), Julia Sweeney has the unique ability to find that essential thread of human connection and weave it through stories as funny as they are insightful. Whether it’s about nannies, strollers, sex, or religion, Julia always writes with elegant precision, pinning her jokes with razor-sharp observations while articulating feelings that we all share.
Review
"What a gift! If It's Not One Thing, It's Your Mother is an intimate and hilarious book that will leave you resenting your mother less, hugging your children tighter, and glowing with gratitude that Julia Sweeney has put it all into words."
Review
“Reading If It’s Not One Thing, It’s Your Mother gave me the delightful sensation of being Julia Sweeney’s best friend. I curled up in bed with this book and we shared secrets, swapped parenting fiascos and boyfriend dramas, complained about our mothers, laughed a lot, cried a little, and just generally had an awesome time. Write another book soon, Ms. Sweeney! Legions of your friends are waiting!”
Review
"A deep, candid, insightful, and emotional look at love, family, independence, and commitment....Reading it is like catching up through a long, soul-baring night with your funniest old friend."
Review
"A former SNL cast member leaves fame behind, moving to the Midwest and adopting a Chinese girl, in this endearing series of true tales from parenthood's front lines."
Review
"Frank, funny."
Review
"Funny, funny stuff . . . clever and quirky . . . she exhibits that rare ability as a writer to make the ordinary seem interesting."
Review
"Outlandishly funny . . . For every mother who could use a laugh—in other words, every mother—If It's Not One Thing, It's Your Mother offers a touch of wisdom and plenty of wit."
Review
"Intimate and humorous . . . Sweeney's devilish sense of humor successfully makes the transition to page, linking the scenes of her life as daughter, sister, wife, and mother into a delightful whole."
Review
“Laugh-out-loud moments blended with honesty and despondency.”
Review
"Sweeney takes life’s quotidian rituals to hilarious heights."
Review
"This is the sort of book that made me want to be the person who wrote it. Pithy, painful and very, very funny."
Review
"I am hereby breaking my vow to not write any more blurbs because...it's Julia Sweeney! In my opinion, any new creative offering from Julia Sweeney, no matter what the medium, is a cause for celebration because she is such a spectacular combination of insightful, hilarious and honest. So, yay! A new book from Julia Sweeney! Drinks are on me!"
Review
"What a delicious treat! Julia Sweeney is one of the truest, warmest, wittiest voices in the world today, and we're so lucky that she spent her precious alone-time (while her husband and daughter were away) writing a book that invites everyone into her heart and home."
Review
"Julia Sweeney can you make you laugh about anything. . . . Wry and honest."
Review
"[Sweeney's] sharp humor shines through . . . singles looking to adopt will find inspiration along with the giggles."
Review
"A thoughtful set of essays on motherhood embroidered with humor . . . As you'd expect, there's humor here, but it's also a deeper read about relationships and the unpredictability of life."
Synopsis
Saturday Night Live veteran Julia Sweeney's "endearing series of true tales from parenthood's front lines" (O, The Oprah Magazine) is a funny, smart tour de force that reads like a conversation with your best friend.In these candidly witty and poignant essays, comedienne and writer Julia Sweeney muses on the complex blessings of motherhood: deciding to adopt her daughter, a Chinese girl named Mulan ("After the movie?"); nannies (including the Chinese Pat); being adopted by a dog; and meeting Mr. Right through an email from a complete stranger who wrote, "Desperately Seeking Sweeney-in-Law." She recounts how she explained the facts of life to nine-year-old Mulan, a story that became a wildly popular TED talk and YouTube video. But no matter what the topic, Julia always writes with elegant precision, pinning her jokes with razor-sharp observations while articulating feelings that we all share.
Synopsis
In these candidly witty and poignant essays, comedienne and writer Julia Sweeney muses on the complex blessings of motherhood: deciding to adopt her daughter, a Chinese girl named Mulan (“After the movie?”); nannies (including the Chinese Pat); being adopted by a dog; and meeting Mr. Right through an email from a complete stranger who wrote, “Desperately Seeking Sweeney-in-Law.” She recounts how she explained the facts of life to nine-year-old Mulan, a story that became a wildly popular TED talk and YouTube video. But no matter what the topic, Julia always writes with elegant precision, pinning her jokes with razor-sharp observations while articulating feelings that we all share.
About the Author
Julia Sweeney was a cast member of Saturday Night Live from 1990 to 1994. She has also written and performed in several successful, critically acclaimed one-woman shows, including God Said Ha!, which played on Broadway and was made into a film; In the Family Way, which appeared Off Broadway; and Letting Go of God, which was performed Off Broadway and made into a film. She lives outside of Chicago.