The supermom is a suburban legend. At some point, we’ve all forgotten to pack a lunch, yelled at our kids, or been late to soccer practice. This book is for every mom who has ever gotten angry at being interrupted from a consecutive five hours of sleep, or who has ever hid in the bathroom just to get a few moments of peace.

In this collection of thirty-six original essays, award-winning novelists, famous columnists, and bestselling authors tell it like it is, covering a plethora of confessions to reassure any mother. Gail Belsky writes about the emotional torture that led to the secret circumcision of her son. Andrea Buchanan talks about the pile of dirty laundry that saved her son's life. Muffy Mead-Ferro confesses to her slacker summer, three months without one organized activity. Judith Newman recounts the game of Torpedo that landed her and her twins in the emergency room. Jacquelyn Mitchard shares how she was expelled from the carpool for showing up late one too many times. Together, their stories provide an entertaining, affirming, and sometimes surprising look at the perils and pleasures of motherhood.

Poignant and amusing, The Imperfect Mom is a refreshing look at mistakes we all make in mothering and a consoling and hilarious testimony to parents who don't have it all figured it out.

Deftly dismantling the myth of the supermom, "The Imperfect Mom is a candid look at the common pitfalls and perils of parenting. In engaging original essays, award-winning novelists, famous columnists, and bestselling authors share the missteps, confusion, and careless mistakes of their child-raising years. From lighthearted anecdotes to recollections of near tragedies, their stories capture the swing of emotions and the unanticipated challenges every mother experiences.

Gail Belsky, the former executive editor of "Working Mother, writes about the emotional conflicts that led to the secret circumcision of her son; veteran journalist Judith Newman recounts the hair-raising event that sent her and her twins to the emergency room; popular author Andrea Buchanan describes how a pile of dirty laundry saved her son from serious injury; and award-winning novelist Caroline Leavitt tells how her own brush with death during the first year of her son's life affected both mother and child. Other writers discuss the demanding day-to-day routines and the personality "flaws" that undermined their attempts to be the perfect mom. Jacquelyn Mitchard, for example, divulges that she was expelled from her neighborhood carpool for showing up late one too many times. And Ayun Halliday confesses to her addiction to the catfights that would unfold on the discussion boards of a parenting Web site.

A compassionate testimony to parents who don't always have it all figured out, "The Imperfect Mom portrays universal feelings of maternal doubt, inadequacy, guilt, and ambivalence-and the incomparable joys of mothering that override them all.

Deftly dismantling the myth of the supermom, Borchard takes a candid look at the common pitfalls and perils of parenting. In engaging original essays, award-winning novelists, famous columnists, and bestselling authors share the missteps, confusion, and careless mistakes of their child-raising years.

THERESE J. BORCHARD is a nationally syndicated columnist and editor of I Love Being a Mom. She has published articles in Parenting, Ladies’ Home Journal, American Baby, and The Washington Post, and is a regular guest on national radio and television programs. She lives in Annapolis, Maryland.