A comic and heartwarming memoir about childhood’s second act from Real Simple journalist Catherine Newman.

Much is discussed a child’s infancy and toddler years, which is usually good since kids won’t remember it themselves. It really is ages 4-14 that make up the second take action, as Catherine Newman puts it in this delightfully candid, outlandishly funny new memoir about the years that ‘your kids will keep in mind as youth.’ Following Newman’s child and daughter because they blossom from preschoolers into teens, CATASTROPHIC HAPPINESS is about the bittersweet pleasure of raising children–and the ever-evolving scenery of issues parents traverse. In fun out-loud, heart-wrenching, relatable tone of voice, Newman narrates occasions as momentous as grief so that as silently moving as the moonlit encounter of the sleeping kid. From tantrums and camaraderie to fear and even sex, Newman’s new take will appeal to any parent traveling this same roller coaster of laughter and heartbreak.