Author – Anupriya runs a blog mommytincture wherein she shares her experiences and thoughts as a mother, a daughter, a woman and a conscientious human being.

Book – Parenting & A Slice of Everything is a collection of 26 stories that portrays various incidents and emotions related to pregnancy, parenthood and relationships.

It showcases the life of two sisters, Smita and Amrita, one who chooses to not have a child and the other who has a 5-year old and is pregnant with her second baby. However, the story is not restricted to Smita and Amrita alone but talks about other people in their life too.

The book touches on relevant topics of both pregnancy and parenting such as a successful career woman Smita is bullied by her mother to start her family, an extremely pregnant Amrita feeling inadequate and jealous when she sees her husband paying more than necessary attention to his slim and svelte colleague, her genuine confusion on how to introduce certain topics like death to her young son or how to behave when her son throws a massive tantrum in the mall for a chocolate, Amrita and her husband Raghav stealing moments of passion on their date night, potty training, the nanny who becomes a surrogate to Amrita’s elder son Nik, and so on.

We also come across endearing stories of Smita and Amrita’s mother, Mrs. Gujral who has been dominated all her life by her perfection-seeking husband and a single mother who is raising her son all alone trying her best so that her son doesn’t take after his father.

Review – I had expected this book to contain only advice and tips on parenting. However, I was in for a pleasant surprise. The book is in the form of a story that doesn’t restrict itself to parenting, but also talks about life and relationships in general. Every chapter raises a pertinent question about parenting and life which makes the reader take a moment and ponder. I found it very innovative, as admit it, tips and suggestions even when given out in good faith are both condescending and boring.

What I liked –

I found this chapter very endearing where Smita’s mother in law is jealous of Smita for usurping her son. She clings to her son whenever he visits her. Smita understands the feeling of loneliness and desperation that the older lady is going through. She extends a hand of friendship and lets the mother in law know that she can never take her place – the place of the mother.

These lines will give every couple who ever argued about not having a second baby quite some food for thought –

With a single salary, this lower middle-class couple had nurtured two saplings into full blossom flowers – confident, capable and financially independent. And here she had in front of her, a couple who earned a six-digit monthly salary each and yet could not afford parenthood.

What I didn’t like –

Some grammatical and spelling errors though it doesn’t affect the reading pleasure.

In all, Parenting & A Slice of Everything has a bit of everything for a reader. If it gives you an insight into what parenting can be like, it also reveals the intricacies and complexities of relationships.

To read the book, you can download it from here.