“Have kids,” they said. “It will be the best thing that ever happened to you,” they encouraged. In therapy, on the cusp of a mental breakdown caused by a sleep-defying baby, Alyssa DeRose listens as her therapist (read: paid best friend) finally puts her version of the truth into words: “It’s okay if becoming a mother was both the best and worst thing to ever happen to you.” Alyssa now welcomes fellow women into the brutal and transformational season of life called new motherhood, inviting us to reflect on our own flawed stories of motherhood and offering needed permission to embrace our imperfection. Written from the trenches of her daily life, MOMOIR: A New Mom’s Journey to Embracing Her Not-So-Perfect Motherhood provides a front-row seat to Alyssa’s struggles with motherhood—through miscarriage and postpartum depression and marital stress and a surprise second baby. She shares her colorful story with authenticity, faith, and a healthy dose of levity, three ingredients she has learned every mother needs to survive.