It Sucked and Then I Cried: How I Had a Baby, a Breakdown, and a Much Needed Margarita [Hardcover]

Heather Armstrong (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 24, 2009

To the dedicated millions who can’t get enough of Heather’s unique style and hilarious stories on her hugely popular blog, there’s little she doesn’t share about her daily life as a recovering Mormon, wife of a charming geek, lover of awful television, and stay-at-home mom to five-year-old Leta, newborn Marlo, and two willful dogs..

Now, Heather shares, with biting wit and unrelenting honesty, all the other minor details of pregnancy and motherhood that no one cares to mention—like anxiety, constipation, and postpartum depression. There are lonely days, sleepless nights, and endless screaming. There’s the boredom that comes with caring for someone whose primary means of communication is through her bowels. And there’s the heart-swelling joy and utterly irresistible and totally redeemable fresh baby smell that makes it all worthwhile..

It Sucked and Then I Cried is a brave cautionary tale about crossing over that invisible line to the other side (the parenting side), where everything changes, and it can get pretty unpleasant. But more importantly, it’s a celebration of a love so big it threatens to make your heart explode. .

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Heather B. Armstrong is an American blogger who resides in Salt Lake City, Utah. She and husband Jon Armstrong have a daughter and two dogs: Former Congressman Henry "Buck" Chucklesworth, called Chuck, and Dame Eleanor Ritzford-Fitzsimons Puffs, a.k.a Coco.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Gallery Books (March 24, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416936017
• ISBN-13: 978-1416936015
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (145 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #267,800 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #29 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Mental Health > Postpartum Depression

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed Fan, May 8, 2009

By 

D. Kettmann - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: It Sucked and Then I Cried: How I Had a Baby, a Breakdown, and a Much Needed Margarita (Hardcover)

I'm a huge fan of Dooce but I couldn't finish this book. Between the CONSTANT RANDOM CAPITAL LETTERS and the fact that it was basically her blog, just updated to be in past tense, this book was overall a disappointment. I was really hoping for something more from Dooce. I know she does the capital letters thing on her blog but I had hoped she could do her humour and keep her voice without resorting to typical blog format.

Basically, if you're a newcomer to Dooce and missed all the drama surrounding Leta's birth, this book might interest you. But if you don't want to pay for it, just go peek through Dooce's archives - it's all right there.

77 of 88 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars *shrugs shoulders*, March 28, 2009

By 

Jana "Jana" (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: It Sucked and Then I Cried: How I Had a Baby, a Breakdown, and a Much Needed Margarita (Hardcover)

Heather Armstrong, proprietor of Dooce.com is a funny and fantastic writer, but this fell really flat for me and left me truly, truly disappointed (even though she loves Morrissey). And although I knew many of her blog entries would be included in the book (duh, they would have to), she doesn't really delve into anything particular to give a NEW reader true insight; almost like she skimmed over cruicial elements of depression, PPD, her real past with said depression. I think she rushed to have it published.

If you don't read her blog, this would still be a funny, sweet book, but I really wanted to learn more about her-not just a reiteration of the blog.

64 of 74 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A little uneven..., March 30, 2009

By 

B. Eckel (Wisconsin) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: It Sucked and Then I Cried: How I Had a Baby, a Breakdown, and a Much Needed Margarita (Hardcover)

I must preface this by saying that I am a huge Dooce fan. I have been following Heather for years, and feel like I know her family personally. The book is well written, however feels very uneven. In one breath she's talking about lack of sleep leading to generally melting down, and in the next she's out shopping, visiting family, and writing Leta her monthly "I love you" letters. (Which btw - I also do for my daughter...) I find Heather an amazing writer - quirky, smart, caustic... But this was either poorly organized, or badly edited. I guess I expected more.

In my opinion, the best part of the book was when she talked about Jon and how he helped her through her depressions. They obviously have a strong marriage - and that was the one part of the book that didn't feel even slightly embellished. Honest, raw, and loving.