Customer Reviews

Confessions of a Prep School Mommy Handler: A Memoir

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Not very original, no plot, no believable characters...I wouldn't really recommend it. This is a collection of short anecdotes arranged in chronological order and it all sounds so over the top and composite character-like.
If you really want to laugh about prep school mommies, read Acceptance by Susan Coll.

On any given weekday morning, rain or shine, you could find Wade Rouse in the carpool lane of Tate Academy helping to direct traffic, usher kids into school and placate the concerns of parents. Rouse was not a crossing guard or even a teacher, but the director of publicity at the prestigious mid-western school.

In his latest memoir, CONFESSIONS OF A PREP SCHOOL MOMMY HANDLER, the author of AMERICA'S BOY recounts his life at the beck and call of a few of the super rich and snobby mothers of Tate students. While publicity is ostensibly his job at Tate, Rouse soon learns that his primary responsibility is handling overly involved and not very kind mommies. For him, the carpool lane comes to symbolize his demeaning work at the school.

Rouse is clever, funny and kind, but not to himself. His low self-esteem is attractive to the ladies he dubs "the mean mommies," especially to Katherine Isabelle Ludington, or "Kitsy." Kitsy, a Tate alum and the parent to young Tate student "Mitsy," decides to become deeply involved in both the major and minor happenings on the busy Tate calender. These are the events that Rouse is generally in charge of, and somehow, over the course of the year, he ends up being her assistant. Rouse is desperate to turn her down but is unable to do so. She humiliates him, manipulates him emotionally and buys him off with expensive gifts, yet he still wonders if she in fact may be his first adult female friend.

It is not necessary to have read Rouse's first memoir, in which he talks about his childhood and young adulthood, to fully understand where he is coming from in CONFESSIONS, but it does help a little. Rouse grew up in the rural south in an eccentric but caring family. He was gay, overweight and unpopular. Later he slimmed down, came out to his family and close friends, and found true love in his partner, Gary. But the insecure boy remained deep within him, and Kitsy and the other mean mommies knew how to bring him out. Over the course of the year, with some encouragement and self-realization, Rouse garners the strength to stand up to the injustices of the carpool lane.

While a memoir, this is far from a tell-all. Kitsy is a composite of several of the women Rouse knew at the university, but most of the time that fact is easy to overlook as he draws us into the world of Tate: SUVs, vacation homes, designer labels, expendable income, free time and lots of Lilly Pulitzer pink. Overall, Rouse is far kinder to his subjects than they ever were to him.

CONFESSIONS is funny and touching, and Rouse really hits his stride when he begins to explore why he stayed on at a job that made him miserable. Full of interesting characters and told by a genuinely good guy, this is a fun and thoughtful book that is not to be missed.

--- Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman

No doubt this tell all satire will sell out quickly in St. Louis where everyone
who attended "Tate" will be trying to assimilate the characters.
The book is well written, but the characterization is way over the top.
Perhaps I feel this way because I attended "Tate" for a dozen years.
Regardless, it is a delicious catty read not to be taken too seriously.

Wade Rouse's second memoir is extremely amusing for anyone who has seen prep school from either the in or out crowds' perspectives. I suspect that most premier prep schools have their share of the Mean Mommies mocked in this memoir. That said, those from the St. Louis area will find this especially entertaining.

Following its publication, Rouse conducted a number of interviews. He refused to confirm or deny that Tate Academy was inspired by the years he spent as Director of Communications at a toney local prep school. If you want to identify the school, the information can be googled, but I don't want to spoil the fun. Local press interviews with graduates and staff at the school indicated that they all understood what school was being discussed. St. Louis natives who answer the "which high school" question will doubtless enjoy trying to identify the country club and some of the characters. Rouse stated that every hilarious incident, including when a 90+ year old alum chugged whiskey and pushed him down a staircase during a school event, was based on an actual experience. For those of you from the hallowed halls of Tate, you may find his catty digs cut a little close to the bone. It all depends which crowd you were in and how seriously you took it all.

Enjoyed the book, read it in two settings, but felt like I'd read it before even though I had not. The style, language and tone of the book reads like "The Devil Wears Prada" and many other satire type memoirs that have recently flooded into bookstores and libraries. Although Wade's opinion of the prep school life is on the mark, his attitude is a bit annoying. I couldn't help but feel he had a bit of contempt not only for the mommy bullies at Tate, but also for women in general. Maybe I'm wrong. I hope I am.

This book, the second I have read from this author was entertaining.
While I did not enjoy it as much as his first memoir, I did find myself laughing out loud often. I also had moments where i shed a tear and countless times when I was smiling. Wade Rouse and his thoughts in his books, convey what many think in their own heads. Most of all his stories show how human we all can be and how over time we can change and grow and find our own path in life.

Everything this man writes is downright hysterical - but it goes beyond that. His books are very well written and so entertaining. I never wanted to put it down! There are laughs, a few tears and a some moments of really thinking about how you would react in some of his situations.

The best thing I did this summer was to get my hands on everything he has written. You know it's a great read when you find yourself smiling as you turn pages!

I have read some negative reviews in the past and I must comment on them - they seem a lot like the sour grapes of bad writers who cannot get published!

I hope there are many more books to come!

Oh, and he AND his hubby are AH-DORABLE!

Hilarious and touching, a quick read that left me wanting more. Wade Rouse picked an odd place to go about the business of finding himself. I will definitely read the rest of his works.

This is a great book. I was so sad when it was over. You feel like you are friends with the author. I can't wait for the next book.

I loved this book. I am using it in my book club. This is a must buy. I heard it has already sold out in St.Louis and Chicago. This is a tell all about anyone and every one who has every went to Prep School or had to deal with the Filthy Rich. Rouse's charaters jump off the page and so does he. His personal stuggle with Kitsy the Mean Mommy makes the Devil Wears Prada look like a cake walk. A FUN FUN READ!!!!!!!

Ciao,

Grant