I have the greatest job in the world!

This weekend I am finishing up my Mojo Mom manuscript, getting ready to send my publisher a complete draft of the new edition. Woo hoo! A few days ago I felt like one of those people who collapse at mile 24 of a marathon run. You think, they made it that far, how could they possibly collapse so close to the finish line? But I have really pushed myself to the edge of what I can get done over the past few months. I do notice that 40 is very different from 20 when it comes to all-nighters...it just ain't gonna happen very often. The good news is that I work in advance much better now than I used to.

So today to psych myself up for writing, I gathered all my the books I read while writing Mojo Momand collected them onto one set of bookshelves. Doing so made me realized that I have managed to land the best job in the world, for me. I love books. My definition of success is being able to order any book that I am interested in reading, and I managed to create a job that allows me to do just that.

I love ideas but I also love the books themselves, the colorful covers, the feeling of holding one in my hand. I like to carry them, to remember where I was when I read one. I've experimented with an e-book, thinking it might do for reading what the iPod has done for my music and radio listening, but so far the Kindle just doesn't give me the same relationship with the information I get when I have the physical form to relate to.

So in honor of my excellent vocation, here is a photo of my Mojo Mom bibliography shelves, in progress:



And here is a closeup of part of one shelf, rotated so that you can read the titles, with book links after the photo:



The 7 Stages of Motherhood by Ann Pleshette Murphy
The Millionth Circle by Jean Shinoda Bolen
The Seven Principles of Making Marriage Work by John Gottman and Nan Silver
The Motherhood Manifesto by Joan Blades and Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner
The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan
Momma Zen by Karen Maezen Miller
Sisterhood, Interrupted by Deborah Siegel
The Truth Behind the Mommy Wars by Miriam Peskowitz
When Partners Become Parents by Carolyn Pape Cowan and Philip Cowan
Why Work Sucks and How to Fix It by Cali Ressler and Jody Thompson
Opting Out? Why Women Really Quit Careers and Head Home by Pamela Stone
It's Not the Glass Ceiling, It's the Sticky Floor by Karen Engberg
Momfidence, by Paula Spencer
The Art of Possibility by Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander
The Millionth Circle by Jean Shinoda Bolen
I Don't Know How She Does It by Allison Pearson

I know that when it comes right down to it, I need to trust my own voice and perspective as a writer, but it was important to me that Mojo Mom was much more than my own personal opinion. So I did a lot of research over the years, and I have enjoyed immersing myself in the ongoing conversation that has continued to evolve since I first published my book. As a matter of fact, of the sixteen titles I just listed, only five of them were in the first edition of Mojo Mom. The others have either been published after 2005 or become known to me since then. I feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to update my work, stay immersed in the literature, and bring you the best new resources that I have discovered.