If It's Not One Thing, It's Your Mother

By: Julia Sweeney

Narrated by: Julia Sweeney

Saturday Night Live veteran Julia Sweeney’s “endearing series of true tales from parenthood’s front lines” (O, The Oprah Magazine) is a funny, smart tour de force that reads like a conversation with your best friend.

In these candidly witty and poignant essays, comedienne and writer Julia Sweeney muses on the complex blessings of motherhood: deciding to adopt her daughter, a Chinese girl named Mulan (“After the movie?”); nannies (including the Chinese Pat); being adopted by a dog; and meeting Mr. Right through an email from a complete stranger who wrote, “Desperately Seeking Sweeney-in-Law.” She recounts how she explained the facts of life to nine-year-old Mulan, a story that became a wildly popular TED talk and YouTube video. But no matter what the topic, Julia always writes with elegant precision, pinning her jokes with razor-sharp observations while articulating feelings that we all share.

Great! Funny way to describe real life

This was a really well written and performed book! I loved the subtle humor and also the candor read in the words of the author. I definitely recommend reading this!

Good but not her best

I like Julia Sweeney. This book is not as good as, for example, her performances such as "Letting Go of God". Still, I give it a good recommendation.

Touching and funny.

Julia does a great job on the audio version. At times I was laughing out loud while at others I was deeply touched. I would recommend this audiobook.

An relaxing afternoon with a few happy tears

This book is like having a conversation with a close friend. I don't know how she manages to do that. Julia Sweeney is just so very down-to-earth and approachable as a writer.

Great introduction to Sweeney the performer!

I am a HUGE fan of Sweeney, her one woman shows and her TED talk. Ironically, the only thing I scarcely know about her is her character Pat from SNL.
This book is a great first read to get to know Sweeney, then order her other works to get greater depth. Since I listened the other way, some of the stuff covered in this latest book was a little redundant.
I did think her performance was a little off compared to the live show recordings she has done in the past for "Letting Go of God" for example. Maybe it is the absence of an audience that makes her reading sound a little stilted.
One of the topics that makes this such a fantastic listen is the growing and morphing relationship with between Sweeney and her mother. They are about as different as humanly possible, yet loving. In this current work you can feel the understanding, connection and even forgiveness between mother, daughter and granddaughter that is truly heartwarming.