"A slacker wife has the wisdom to accept the following: that a little dirt on her kitchen floor doesn't hurt anyone, that wrinkles on her husband's shirt and on her face are perfectly natural and not worth worrying about, that party guests can be just as happy with a bowl of chips as an elaborate salmon mousse, and that over-scheduled equals under-happy."
Part-memoir and part-treatise on how to cut yourself a little slack, Muffy Mead-Ferro lays it on the line in Confessions of a Slacker Wife. Troubled by the bombardment of messages to do more, look better, and achieve greater things, Mead-Ferro challenges the reader to take a step back and evaluate her life for herself. She takes an in-depth look at many issues and expectations women have for themselves as wives and the expectations that others have for them.
For example, Mead-Ferro explores supposed standards of cleanliness, beauty, hostessing, activities, marriage, parenting, and even sex. She discusses where we these standards come from (the media and others around us) and how we unrealistically attempt to achieve them. Through each chapter she combines deft humor and personal anecdotes so that the reader can identify with and understand the points she is making.
I found Confessions of a Slacker Wife funny and freeing. It allowed me to re-think my priorities and determine which things in my life are necessary and which things are me trying to "keep up with the Joneses." My one criticism is that the author doesn't use enough examples to make the book relevant to everyone. It is difficult to determine whether she was writing a memoir about her life or an instruction book for how to give yourself a break. The combination of the two don't flow well at times.
All in all, Confessions of a Slacker Wife is an enjoyable read that will have women laughing out loud at Mead-Ferro's life as well as nodding in agreement with their own experiences. If you are in need of cutting yourself some slack, this is the ideal book to set you on the right course.