Ketchup Is a Vegetable

Starred review from March 3, 2014
O’Bryant’s terrific collection of sketches about motherhood will make readers laugh and think. Besides O’Bryant (Second Helping), author of the humor column and blog Robin’s Chicks, her three daughters are the stars, with husband Zeb appearing as wonderful, intelligent, yet still frequently inept partner. Youngest daughter Sadie is full of sweetness, while middle sister Emma is “uncanny in her ability to seek, destroy, and then cover her tracks” and might have “a bright future with Cirque de Soleil or as a cat burglar.” Oldest daughter Aubrey is always ready with tough questions, as when she spots her father in the bathroom: “You an ele-pant, Daddy?” Sunday School and appeals to the Lord crop up, but these stories will appeal to readers from any background. Besides her candor about bodily parts and functions, O’Bryant admits to having “the mouth of a sailor” as well as occasionally treating herself to a bit of “Mommy Juice.” Some passages would make great stand-up comedy, like her chapter on road trips and her five-day pedicure instructions, but the author also provides keen observations, helpful suggestions (cabbage leaves to stop milk flow, anyone?), and considerable wisdom. Parents will find O’Bryant’s book, like parenting itself, to be “freakin’ awesome.”

March 1, 2014
An inside look at mothering three small children. For most parents, O'Bryant's (A Second Helping: A Collection of Popular Columns, 2013, etc.) humorous, offbeat and nonglitzy examination of her life as a mother of three girls will feel normal. Readers without children may wonder how the human race has survived as long as it has. Babies, breast-feeding and boobs play major roles in the narrative. "I have a fascination and fixation with boobs, not just my own," writes the author. "I am enthralled by your boobs just as much as I am my very own." Her Big Berthas feature prominently in many of the sassy and outrageous moments she relates, whether trying to breast-feed her youngest daughter in the family car or the struggles she had to feed her first newborn, who refused to latch on. O'Bryant brings the nitty-gritty, often taboo subjects of personal body functions to new heights as sweat, body fat and vomit all play roles--as does poop, whether from a child or adult, in all its various shapes, sizes and moments of expulsion. Whether going shopping, attending PTA meetings, or traveling long distances to visit family and friends, each episode is full of the unconventional behavior of three rambunctious daughters and the mother who struggles to keep pace. Although the baby talk of her daughters is age-appropriate, some readers may tire of some of the childish speech--e.g., "But Momma, I wub her, and I want to pway wif her." Nonetheless, these behind-the-scenes observations of one woman's version of motherhood dispel the oftentimes gussied-up descriptions of blissfully raising a child while providing much-needed comic relief for other parents struggling to survive. "All the screaming, dirty diapers, tantrum throwing, and sleepless nights are worth it," writes the author. "It is worth every heartache and tear we shed as mothers." A cheeky, amusing motherhood memoir.

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