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Inside the Cover Book Reviews
By Amy Brozio-Andrews
In the Beginning There Were No
Diapers: Laughing and Learning in the First Years of Fatherhood
Tim Bete
2005
Sorin Books
102 pp.
Parenting /humor
They say laughter is the best medicine and for parents-- dads in particular--
Tim Bete’s book, In the Beginning There Were No Diapers: Laughing and Learning
in the First Years of Fatherhood, will do more for your tension headache after a
long day with the kids than an extra strength Tylenol. This man is funny,
literally laugh out loud funny. I read a few passages aloud to my husband while
he was driving the car (especially the part where Bete is so sleep-deprived he‘s
resorted to slipping straight coffee grinds between his cheek and gum), and he
almost drove off the road he was laughing so hard.
Embracing the insanity that is fatherhood and welcoming the little everyday
miracles that are revealed through mundane things like successful potty
training, Bete proves to parents that he really does know where we‘re coming
from. And yes, despite that fact that the book’s title refers to the early years
of fatherhood, mothers will find Bete’s book relevant to their lives as well.
From sick kids to temper tantrums, mealtimes to birthdays to holidays, Bete’s
got a knack for turning the ridiculous into the sublime. He fully acknowledges
that without God’s help, he’d never make it through his three kids’ childhood;
forget evolution versus creationism, In the Beginning There Were No Diapers
firmly adheres to the “botta bing, botta boom” school of human development, as
in “botta bing, botta boom, the baby is finally sleeping through the night”
(meaning, you have no idea how that happened, but it probably involved divine
intervention).
Heavy on dialogue that’s so funny you’ll be calling your friends (the ones with
kids, of course) to share it and stories that will warm your heart as quickly as
they bring a smile to your face, readers are sure to find Bete’s book inspiring;
just knowing that you’re not the only one who moonlights as the tooth fairy,
stumbling around in the dark, can do wonders for a parent’s state of mind. In
the Beginning There Were No Diapers is rooted in selections from Bete’s
newspaper column, “Where I Live,” which was previously published by The
Christian Science Monitor, as well as several other magazines.
Staking out the limits of parenthood with well-known Biblical stories, like
Jesus performing the miracle that stretched five loaves of bread and two fish
into feeding a crowd (but will the kids learn to eat their vegetables?), Bete
clearly finds strength and inspiration in his faith but never takes a
heavy-handed tone that might alienate readers who don’t share his views. In the
Beginning There Were No Diapers will appeal to all parents looking for
inspiration and camaraderie from the trenches of child-raising.
CLICK HERE TO ORDER THE BOOK.
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Amy Brozio-Andrews is a freelance writer and
book reviewer. She brings more than five years' experience as a readers'
advisory librarian to her work, which is regularly published by Library
Journal, The Imperfect Parent, and Absolute Write. Her reviews have also
been published by The Absinthe Literary Review, ForeWord Magazine,
January Magazine, and Melt Magazine. Amy is also the managing editor and
an international markets columnist for Absolute Write. Visit her online
at
http://www.amyba.com. |
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