The Lunch-Box Chronicles: Notes from the Parenting Underground Paperback - 1999

"For me, parenting is like dieting. Every day, I wake up filled with resolve and good intentions, perfection in view, and every day I somehow stray from the path. The difference is with dieting, I usually make it to lunch. . . ."With the open and often hilarious voice we have come to expect from Marion Winik, here is a refreshing, insightful journey that takes us through the mishaps and serendipity, tumult and quiet, that make up daily life in raising a family. When Winik's husband died in 1994, she was left not only with her grief, but also with the care of her two sons and with the task of rebuilding all their lives. Part memoir, part survival guide, The Lunch-Box Chronicles is a wholly engaging revelation of the philosophy of parenting that grew out of her experience, where boys (ages seven and nine) will be the boys they are, and a "good-enough mom" is actually good enough. Taking us from the morning scramble to get the boys off to school to the good-night kisses when (at last!) they are asleep, Winik takes on the difficult subjects of everyday life, from sex and drugs to what to make for dinner, all with affection and insight, but with her laser-sharp humor and sense of irony firmly in place. From the Hardcover edition.

IN SCHOOL PORTRAITS tacked over my desk, you can see them at seven and five: Captain America and his little brother, the Refugee.

With the candor and often hilarious outlook that have made her a beloved commentator on NPR, Marion Winik takes the reader on an unforgettable journey through modern parenthood, with all of its attendant anxieties and joys.

A single mother with two small boys, Winik knows exactly what she's talking about, from battles over breakfast and bedtime to the virtues of pre-packaged food and weightier issues like sex education and sibling rivalry. Part memoir and part survival guide, The Lunch-Box Chronicles is an engaging philosophy of parenting from a staunch realist, who knows that kids and their parents both will inevitably fall far short of perfection, and that a "good enough mom" really is, in fact, good enough.