Rockabye

Still Rocking On

I was only on the second page of Rebecca Woolf’s new book, Rockabye: From Wild To Child [$15.95], when I knew I was in for a late night. I wouldn’t be able to put this one down. You don’t have to be a wild child turned tame to relate to this story. Every mother will find remnants of her old self and maybe glimpses of who she is now or wants to be.

Just like the first time you hear an album and you have that OMG moment where you totally “get it” and it “gets you”, Rebecca’s words have a way of grabbing on tightly- no matter how much you remind yourself that this is not your life or even remotely close to your life that you’re reading about- in a way that you still feel like you’ve so been there. I found Rockabye poetic and uplifting, all wrapped up in jagged edges and tattooed arms. 

I had the opportunity to speak with Rebecca and asked her to describe just what readers will discover in Rockabye. She explains, “I suppose they will find a story of a woman who gets pregnant and tries to adapt to and rebel against motherhood all at once. It's a very honest account of pregnancy and childbirth and marriage and what it's like to suddenly find oneself leading a responsible life, which can be pretty scary."

After everyone reads this one, they're going to be hungry for more. Rebecca is currently working on a TV pilot based on Rockabye with her husband. She’s also working on a novel and a proposal for a collection of essays and, as always, updating her blogs Girl's Gone Child and Straight From the Bottle on Babble.com.

I was curious what might surprise some of us about her "softer" side…“I mentioned it briefly in Rockabye, but I worked six years as a chat-host for chronic and terminally ill children and teenagers. I worked five nights a week basically chatting with kids, giving advice, playing games and being a sort of older sister type to some of the most amazing, inspiring young people I will ever know. It actually made a huge difference in the way I parent Archer and perceive illness in general. Children have incredible strength and profound wisdom especially when faced with adversity.”

I admire that Rebecca knew to trust her instincts and chuck the parenting books early on. (I admit that I didn't learn to do that until my third child). She’s currently expecting again and I wondered if she finds that she’s doing anything purposely different than her pregnancy with her son Archer… “Not so far. I haven't picked up a book this time around either. This pregnancy has been very low-maintenance and I've been so busy with the book release I've hardly had time to prepare or worry or even get excited! I'm actually looking forward to going home next week and spending a little "me time" with my baby to be.”   

And then, just for fun, I had to know what Archer’s favorite book is right now... “Ah! That's a tough one. It's probably a toss-up between Puff the Magic Dragon and I Will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato. I must give him props, though. Both are fantastic books and Archer's pretty good about switching them up these days.”

It was truly a pleasure to speak with this amazing Mama. Rebecca Woolf’s Rockabye is an inspiration and testament that you can still finish that book or whatever it is you  dream to finish or even start someday- and you can still do all that and be a good Mom. You don't have to give up everything in your life just to be “that Mom.” So why do we think we have to?

Win it!
We have a copy of Rockabye for one Mama! To enter, email giveaways[at]mamaspeaks.com with Rockabye as your subject. Giveaway ends May 02, 2008.

-Steph