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I'm Just Happy to Be Here
I'm Just Happy to Be Here: A Memoir of Renegade Mothering | Janelle Hanchett
9 posts | 5 read | 14 to read
From the creator of the blog "Renegade Mothering," Janelle Hanchett's forthright, darkly funny, and ultimately empowering memoir chronicling her tumultuous journey from young motherhood to abysmal addiction and a recovery she never imagined possible. Pregnant at 21 by a man she'd known three months, Janelle Hanchett embraced motherhood with the determined optimism of the recklessly self-confident. After giving birth, she found herself bored, directionless, and seeking relief in wine, which she justified as sophisticated and going well with chicken. But over time, her questionable drinking habit spiraled into full-blown dependence, until life became bedtime stories and splitting hangovers, cubicles and multi-day drug binges--and eventually, an inconceivable separation from her children. For ten years, Hanchett grappled with the unyielding progression of addiction, bouncing from rehab to therapy to the occasional hippie cleansing ritual on her quest for sobriety, before finding it in a way she never expected. Hers is a story we rarely hear--of the addict mother not redeemed by her children; who longs for normalcy but cannot maintain it; and who, having traveled to seemingly irreversible depths, makes it back, only to discover she is still an outsider. Like her irreverent, laugh-out-loud funny, and unflinchingly honest blog, Hanchett's memoir calls out the rhetoric surrounding "the sanctity of motherhood" as tired and empty, boldly recounting instead how she grew to accept an imperfect self within an imperfect life--and think, "Well, I'll be damned, I'm just happy to be here."
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TrishB
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#imhere #musicalnewyear
This looks interesting and would fit #bookaboutaddiction

mrozzz I loved this memoir!! 5y
TrishB @mrozzz I have to say the sub title is interesting! Certainly a future read. 5y
Cinfhen This sounds like something id find interesting!!! Good find!! Thanks for sharing 🙌🏻 5y
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vivastory Sounds intriguing 5y
mrozzz She has a blog of the same name. 😃 she‘s very cool 5y
TrishB @mrozzz it sounds really interesting! 5y
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azulaco
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Pickpick

I pre-ordered this one because I‘m a fan of Janelle Hanchett‘s blog. The book wasn‘t quite as good as I‘d hoped, but it was still enjoyable. I believe that this was her first book-length published writing, so maybe she‘s still finding her feet a little with the format. Addiction and parenting memoir, worth reading.

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azulaco
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Good News Jack, straightforward addiction counselor. 😄

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MelodySchreiber
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Looks like it's time for a little family reading session! So excited about these books from @LittleBrownBooks

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mrozzz
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Pickpick

What a stellar self-deprecating memoir! Addressing mistakes made growing up, struggling under postpartum grief, & holding on to oneself (or not) while becoming/being a mother. Janelle‘s stark skepticism, her innate brutal truths — were highly appealing. Her admissions give me hope for the day I choose to have children, knowing that it's possible to not be a good mom while being a good mom because: PARENTING IS HARD and not (always) a joy.

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mrozzz
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Another brutal excerpt from the ARC of a memoir focused on the trials of new motherhood:

“I thought if I used all my strength to scream into the page, the black would move right out of me and get taken up. I remember shuddering while I wrote and pressing as hard as I could for relief. I lifted my head and squinted my eyes and waited. It never worked. Except alcohol, nothing worked.”

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mrozzz
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This book... has got me feeling so much. The author, Janelle, is wildly intimate about her past and her own emotions questioning being a new mother. I‘m floored by her honesty.

AmyG I used to say to my husband that in my next life I am living in a tiny house with only cats and all you can eat pizza and chocolate....wi-fi, a big TV, a good computer and a library card. Now that I am almost 60....that kind of sounds like assisted living. 😳 The kids will finally come in handy when it comes to bringing pizza and chocolate. ;) (edited) 6y
mrozzz Hahahahah! @AmyG Ah the revelations that come with age.... 6y
saresmoore This reads like my journals through my first five years of motherhood! 6y
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mrozzz Really! @saresmoore definitely pick up this memoir when it comes out in May 😄 6y
Scarlett_ohara Wow! It's so refreshing to have a view of motherhood other than "oh my God children are gifts sent from heaven". This book sounds great! 6y
mrozzz Absolutely!! @Scarlett_ohara May 1 is the release date 😉 6y
CaliforniaCay I didn't hear anything about this until today when I stumbled upon the ARC at work. I wasn't super into the plot when I read the back, but turns out this author not only went to the same college as me but she also lives in my city! So I grabbed it, and after reading your little blurb it has definitely moved up my tbr! 6y
mrozzz @CaliforniaCay Yay! I‘m really liking it... highlighting tons of quotes. Janelle is really someone whose writing I so identify with. 6y
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mrozzz
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I decided to finally try registering with #NetGalley and I got approved for these 4 yet-to-be-released books.

I‘m so excited!! Need to figure out how to focus better reading ebooks so I can get through these and request some more! 🤓

Ms_T 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 6y
readinginthedark Be careful! I‘m still behind on reading and reviewing from over-requesting when I first signed up! 😆 (edited) 6y
mrozzz @readinginthedark NOTED. I should definitely get through at LEAST one before I seek out another. 6y
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mrozzz @Ms_T 😁😁😁 6y
BarbaraTheBibliophage Enjoy! I found out after over-requesting that publishers prefer your review percentage to be 80% or higher. Just FYI. 6y
mrozzz That‘s good to know! I‘ll certainly try to read & review everything I am approved for! @BarbaraTheBibliophage 6y
EKonrad That‘s my exact problem right now! I keep getting approved for arcs and now my TBR is too long! 😉 6y
mrozzz Lol! Gotta keep myself in check then @EKonrad 6y
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