Were You Raised by Wolves?: Clues to the Mysteries of Adulthood (Hardcover)

by Christie Mellor (Author)
Key Phrases: fat separator, skinny pants, crappy job, Were You Raised, Home Sweet Home, Starting Your Own Traditions (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Perhaps, in your parents' eagerness to smooth life's bumpy road, they took such good care of you that you never learned how to be a self-sufficient human being. And now here you are, all grown up. What next?

You may think you don't really need to know how to make a proper cup of coffee. You've never given much thought to your listening skills, or how one goes about saving money, or stocking a bar. But knowing these things will really make you a much more well-rounded and all-around more charming and useful person, one who is more apt to be invited over for dinner. In fact, a lot of us might benefit from having a few gentle hints about housekeeping, habits, and behavior lobbed in our general direction. With advice and information ranging from How to Boil an Egg to How to Go a Whole Day Without Spending Money—in chapters as diverse as the Upside of Being Single and Lonely and the Hangover: Badge of Courage or Waste of a Day?—Were You Raised by Wolves? will help you come away more confident about important issues such as where the hell to put those flowers somebody brought over last night.

So let's all of us embrace our adulthood, shall we? If your mother still chews your food for you and your dad still fills your gas tank, it's time to put on those big boy pants and jump into the deep end of the pool where the grown-ups swim.

About the Author
Christie Mellor is the author of the celebrated The Three-Martini Playdate and The Three-Martini Family Vacation and has received enthusiastic reviews from dozens of publications including Newsweek, People, US, Playboy, Atlantic Monthly and The Times (London) She lives with her husband and almost always pleasant children in Los Angeles.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow (April 8, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061238244
• ISBN-13: 978-0061238246
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #373,063 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful, why didn't somebody give me this 30 years ago?, April 28, 2008

By	yardbird - See all my reviews

funny,funny,cold hard truth.way too late for me, but a must for those in their 20's, 30's or anyone that needs a nudge into adulthood. everything from never missing a chance to shut-up (author's chapter on how "ears are our friends")to how to establish an adult relationship with alcohol, other humans,or not so human,your bank,crazy people, "gasbags",things that won't leave,money,sports nuts,shakespeare,peter sellers,law makers and ourselves. Bravo!! mucho gusto.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pretty funny!, June 18, 2008

By	PunditMom (The shadow of the nation's capital) - See all my reviews

As I was reading Were You Raised By Wolves?: Clues to the Mysteries of Adulthood, I was laughing out loud.

I'm not really the target demographic for this book -- it's really intended for the college and early 20-something set. So, as I sit here teetering on the edge of the number whose name I will not speak, I didn't really need a lot of the advice.

But I know a couple of nieces just finishing their sophomore year in college who may find Raised by Wolves slipped under their pillow next time I see them! ;)

Why? Because in a caustically humorous way, author Christie Mellor, who also wrote The Thee-Martini Playdate, pulls no punches on "encouraging" the reader to take responsibility for some little and big things in life that just make it the world a nicer place -- like learning how to make your bed the right way, complete with illustrations (I found this one particularly helpful!) and cleaning the bathroom. UGH! I shudder at the thought of what the bathroom generally looked like when I shared a place with some other girls in college. ICK!

Mellor tells it like it is in a way that even the most spoiled and pampered almost-adults will understand, like just sucking it up when you start that new job and not acting on day one like you're already everyone's closest friend:

Until you have worked at this job for many more months, and have been invited to socialize with your coworkers, you must not behave as if you are a long-standing member of our happy family. ... You are not allowed to make amusing remarks about Heather's bad hair ... Don't assume that you are 'one of the gang' until you have been invited to be 'one of the gang.'

So many pitfalls of entering the adult working world could have been avoided in my life if I had had this guide! I had no idea I could get those nasty water rings off the wooden TV trays with mayonnaise! I also didn't know that while you CAN freeze vodka for that tasty martini, freezing gin is a bad idea!

Seriously, Mellor strikes the perfect pitch in her ability to encourage the young whipper-snappers of today to take responsibility for learning how to do some nice grown-up things that actually might get them ahead in the worlds of work, friends and love. Most of us had to muddle our way through and figure this stuff out by trial-and-error.

But Were You Raised By Wolves? is a great refresher on all the social niceties that can make our existence so much more pleasant -- plus, I'm getting started soon on her recommended grown-up reading list (except, Christie, I think I'm going to have to pass on Camus!)

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Pack of Fun, May 14, 2008

By	Erika Schickel (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is more than a how-to book for clueless, newly-minted adults. This is an amusing, well-rendered, good-faith attempt at restoring the Social Contract. Too many people are being let loose on the world without having learned the basics of hosting, guesting, home care and self-sustenance. Mother Superior Mellor brings all her wit and whimsy (plus delightful hand-drawn illustrations) to a book that arrives not a moment too soon. I laughed and learned... I recommend it not only to the cubs, but anyone who needs a refresher course on how to be civilized.