Everyone in your life, it seems, is on board to give you advice when children come into your life. The opposite was NOT true for us when it was time to send our children off to their budding adult lives in college. I wish Brecher's book had been around 15 years ago.

She has written a book that combines humor with an honest look at some of the do's and don'ts of parenting in this stage of life. While her book is a look at (IMO) the idealized situation of a supportive family with the means to financially ensure college as the option, the parenting emotions she shares parallel many that so many of us experience with our children. She has shared this perspective in a quick read that is both narrative as well as graphic art in style.

Brecher's story is about parents who are sending their first born off to college, with a high school age son still at home. I can vouch that younger children and their never-ending schedules do help mask the inevitable grief we feel at this stage. What I was not prepared for was how letting go of each child (we have 4) was successively harder, instead of easier. For me, practice did not make me more skilled at emotional management. It will be interesting to see if Brecher writes a sequel when their son is ready--I'd love to know if I'm just the lone crazy mom who struggles to let go.