Breathe Deeply, This Too Shall Pass [Paperback]

Karen Laqualia (Author), Kimberly Ripley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 27, 2000

Breathe Deeply, This Too Shall Pass is a collection of thirty tales of trials and tribulations of parenting teens. You'll laugh. You'll cry. You'll consider selling your pre-teen!

Editorial Reviews

Review

A must for any parenting bookshelf--it would fit perfectly between Dr. Spock and Chicken Soup for the Pre-Teen Soul... -- Rusty Fischer, Freedom to Freelance, Author

Cozy up with this compendium of quaint selections...it's just the thing to warm the soul of any parent... -- Bev Walton-Porter, Editor Scribe and Quill, December 2000

Kimberly Ripley delivers tale after tale that any parent can relate to and every parent should read. -- Klocke Publishing, November 2000

About the Author

Kimberly Ripley is a freelance writer and published author from Portsmouth, New Hampshire. A wife and mother of five, she exploits her family's foibles for financial gain within the writing world.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Booklocker.com, Inc. (November 27, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1929072732
• ISBN-13: 978-1929072736
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,912,214 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WRITING PARENT ACHIEVES SUCCESS WITH NEW BOOK!, January 15, 2001

By 

"thebuzzon" (Orlando, FL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Breathe Deeply, This Too Shall Pass (Paperback)

This collection of hilarious and insightful essays is sure to thrill the parent in all of us, whether we actually have children or not! Mrs. Ripley's mastery of the tongue-in-cheek style that is obviously so necessary to not only parents, but family writers in general, is evident on every page of this enthusiastic and enjoyable collection of essays. A must for any parenting bookshelf, it would fit perfectly between Dr. Spock and Chicken Soup for the Preteen Soul, it's also the perfect gift for parents of teens-to-be. Far from scaring them off, however, this collection of touching tales will only convince them all the more that the teen years are so very special and precious. (If only they could do something about the smell . . .)

Every nook and cranny of modern family life is closely examined under Ripley's keen eye for observation and unique habit of catching perfectly the understated hilarity of everyday conversations. From dirty rooms to music recitals, from student drivers to telephone wars, Ripley evokes the lighter side of family life that no doubt has her own children blushing to this day!

Don't believe me? Try the following examples on for size:

"At that moment I wanted to fall off my chair and slither away like a snake. What I had expected to be a mother's proud moment was a nightmare. And I still had to go home and write the review!

"When the show ended the music director congratulated parents on their children's wonderful performances. I got a cold hard stare."

-An excerpt from the story "Bacteria"

"When our older daughter is in the house simultaneously she and Jim wage what we refer to as phone wars.

`Jim, I need the phone,' Judy will demand.

`Judy, I just got on,' is the standard reply.

"Of course he's been on for so long the receiver imprint on the side of his head has grown purple, but he won't relinquish his prize body part without a fight!"

-An excerpt from the story "Is Jim There?"

"Her room, in addition to housing my daughter and whichever girlfriends she hauls home for the evening, is also home to three large pet rats. The caged little darlings peer at me with their beady eyes, and slither their nasty tails at me each time I enter the room.

"As they slithered and I ransacked, I was aware of their impervious aroma wafting throughout the supposedly "clean" bedroom. Their beady eyes watched me as I confiscated eleven half-finished bottles of caffeine-free Pepsi, eight damp bath towels, nine dirty socks, and more pairs of dirty undies than I could count. There was no partridge in a pear tree. She doesn't own a pear tree."

-An excerpt from the story "Unnatural Disasters"

Though I'm not a parent, as an ex-junior high school teacher in the public school system, these poignant and pointed stories had me rolling with the memory of past students and relived scenarios. When the stress and emotional roller coaster of raising a modern teenager gets to be too much, reach quickly for "Breathe Deeply, This Too Shall Pass" and give yourself an unexpected treat. Your only complaint will be that each story ends too soon!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Got Teens? You've GOT To Read This Book!, October 18, 2002

By 

Maggie Kelly (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Breathe Deeply, This Too Shall Pass (Paperback)

I wish I knew Kimberly Ripley personally, as I think she'd be a great therapist for moms in the throes of parenting teens. Just when I thought I was the worst mom in the world, I read this book and found out I wasn't alone. Lots of teenagers pull stunts like the author's and mine! And with Kimberly Ripley's humorous perspective---both she AND her teenagers survived the years of teen angst.

Got teens? Got friends with teens? ANYONE with teenagers HAS to read this book. It's hilarious!