Once I was a sane, levelheaded professional woman. Then I said “yes.” Now I am the lunatic bride I always made fun of! What is it about getting married that turns normal people into total freaks? A savvy, riotously funny novel, Diary of a Mad Bride is for anyone who has ever been a bride, is about to become a bride, yearned to be a bride, or suffered the sheer indignity of appearing in public in the world’s ugliest bridesmaid dress.... My wedding was starting in less than twenty minutes, and I was stuck in a 7-Eleven parking lot with popcorn kernels wedged in my gums and vanilla ice cream melting on my dress. It was a disaster too large to comprehend. After an agonizing year spent planning my wedding, could it really end like this? The voices chronicling a year of wedding hysteria swirled in my head.... — My grandmother upon viewing my engagement ring: “What do you mean he gave you an emerald! Diamonds are eternal, emeralds say, maybe five years.” — My future father-in-law on the night of my engagement party: “To a happy marriage and, if necessary, a painless divorce!” — My best friend, Anita: “Oh, screw congratulations. Of course I’m happy for you. Stephen’s a major piece of ass and he’s got a sense of humor. Just as long as you’re certain this is what you want.” Would I survive this day after all....?

Someway, somehow, women find themselves branded and rejected by society. The shameful title of deadbeat mom, carries no weight as to what the actual truth of the matter is. What mother could leave her children for sex, drugs and alcohol? This book is the story of a woman who once did just that and overcame that title. The road to reclaiming motherhood is treacherous. There is a reality to face and in a world of instant gratification, this takes time. Success and results don't come instantaneously but with this book, you have entered into a Divine set up. Through this story, you will gain hope in knowing that you are not alone. Victory is attainable and you are victorious. Today is the first day of the rest of your life and rear view mirrors are made small for a reason. Put your hiking boots on and take the first step up what seems to be an unclimbable mountain. The families and loved ones affected by addiction will also gain hope in hearing what goes through the mind of a deadbeat mom. When I first began the journey of writing this book, I didn't know that it would take the path of throwing out a life raft to the loved ones. You may be tired and you may want to give up and that is understandable. What I want you to know is, although you don't know me, I have been praying for you for quite some time.

From the headline-making, New York Times bestselling author of I Hate Everyone...Starting With Me comes another intimate glimpse into the delightfully hilarious mind of Joan Rivers. When her daughter Melissa gives her a diary for Christmas, at first Joan is horrified—who the hell does Melissa think she is? That fat pig, Bridget Jones? But as Joan, being both beautiful and introspective, begins to record her day-to-day musings, she realizes she has a lot to say. About everything. And everyone, God help them. The result? A no-holds-barred, delightfully vicious and always hilarious look at the everyday life of the ultimate diva. Follow Joan on a family vacation in Mexico and on trips between New York and Los Angeles where she mingles with the stars, never missing a beat as she delivers blistering critiques on current events, and excoriating insights about life, pop culture, and celebrities (from A to D list), all in her relentlessly funny signature style. This is the Diary of a Mad Diva. Forget about Anais Nin, Anne Frank, and Sylvia Plath. For the first time in a century, a diary by someone that’s actually worth reading.

Originally published: New York: Dutton, 1989.

Traditional Chinese and English bilingual edition of Dork Diaries 12: Tales from a Not-So-Secret Crush Catastrophe

Bestselling author Reichl embarks on a clear-eyed, openhearted investigation of her mother's life, piecing together the journey of a woman she comes to realize she never really knew.

The Glass Castle meets The Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother in this dazzlingly honest and provocative family memoir by former child actress and current Fox Business Network anchor Melissa Francis. When Melissa Francis was eight years old, she won the role of lifetime: playing Cassandra Cooper Ingalls, the little girl who was adopted with her brother (played by young Jason Bateman) by the Ingalls family on the world's most famous primetime soap opera, Little House on the Prairie. Despite her age, she was already a veteran actress, living a charmed life, moving from one Hollywood set to the next. But behind the scenes, her success was fueled by the pride, pressure, and sometimes grinding cruelty of her stage mother, as fame and a mother's ambition pushed her older sister deeper into the shadows. Diary of a Stage Mother's Daughter is a fascinating account of life as a child star in the 1980's, and also a startling tale of a family under the care of a highly neurotic, dangerously competitive "tiger mother." But perhaps most importantly, now that Melissa has two sons of her own, it's a meditation on motherhood, and the value of pushing your children: how hard should you push a child to succeed, and at what point does your help turn into harm?