Instant Mom
Published on 2. April 2013
Book
Hardback
288 pages
978-0-06-223183-3 (ISBN)
Description
On a rainy morning in early 2003, Nia Vardalos found out that she had been nominated for an Oscar for writing the sceenplay for "My Big, Fat Greek Wedding". But her mind was not on champagne and celebratory cheer. Instead, she was alone, en route to a fertility clinic, trying yet again for another chance at motherhood. In her attempts to make a baby, Vardalos tried everything from drinking daily jugs of green-mud-tea to voodoo-doll-like acupuncture, to working with two surrogates. All the while she was trying to advance her film career, writing films while dodging questions from family, friends, and Hollywood reporters who continually asked Where's the baby? She decided to try adoption and discovered Foster Family Agencies, meeting social workers and eventually getting paired up with a three year old girl with blonde streaks in her hair who she knew, instantly, was her daughter. With her signature wit and candor, in "Instant Mom" Vardalos opens up about what came next - the heartaches and smiles, tears and laughter that all make up what it means to be a parent.
Filled with stories about Vardalos' life in the Hollywood scene - she counts Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson and Sean Hayes as friends - and her unique take on the tough but often hilarious moments that make up motherhood, "Instant Mom" is about how stubborn optimism can work in one's favor, and how it was this very optimism that brought Nia to her daughter against all of the odds.
Filled with stories about Vardalos' life in the Hollywood scene - she counts Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson and Sean Hayes as friends - and her unique take on the tough but often hilarious moments that make up motherhood, "Instant Mom" is about how stubborn optimism can work in one's favor, and how it was this very optimism that brought Nia to her daughter against all of the odds.
Reviews / Votes
"Laugh-out-loud and painful-in-the-shins...The author holds nothing back as she chronicles the years leading up to the adoption." -- Kirkus "I expected to laugh. I didn't expect to cry. And I certainly didn't expect to laugh and cry on the same page. Instant Mom is for anyone whose life plan didn't follow the path they anticipated, and shows us that unexpected obstacles can lead to beautiful rewards." -- Rachel Dratch, author of Girl Walks Into a Bar "Funny, smart,and full of grounded wisdom that shines much-needed light on adoption I couldn't stop reading this hilarious and gripping rollercoaster of a story. Nia is an authentic, rocking female role model in so many ways...and being an instant mom is just one of them." -- Jewel An instant classic. Refreshingly candid for all parents-plus anyone considering adoption.(I was adopted!) We know Nia is many things: writer, actress, director, musical theaterlover! Here, though, you learn she is a mom first. Pure, beautiful honesty." -- Kristin Chenoweth "Readers can feel the tension between desire to share her joy and good fortune and wish to maintain her child's privacy. Vardalos offers candor, humor, and poignancy in her account of adoption and parenthood as she pokes fun at parenting memoirs but delivers on emotional impact." -- Booklist "If you have ever considered bringing a child who isn't an infant into your family, it's the book you'll want to read. And if you just enjoy a good, honest memoir, it's the book for you, too." -- New York Times' Motherlode BlogMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Publishing group
HarperCollins Publishers Inc
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Dimensions
Height: 236 mm
Width: 159 mm
Thickness: 30 mm
Weight
436 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-06-223183-3 (9780062231833)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Nia Vardalos is the Academy Award and Golden Globe nominated writer and actress of such films as My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Connie and Carla, My Life in Ruins, and I Hate Valentine's Day, and co-writer with Tom Hanks of Larry Crowne. She lives in Los Angeles with her family, and donates Instant Mom proceeds to adoption charities.