I'm Just Happy to Be Here: A Memoir of Renegade Mothering by Janelle HanchettMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I've been following Hanchett's blog, Renegade Mothering, for several years. I have always liked her down-to-earth and honest depiction of motherhood. In her blog, she often mentions in passing of having struggled with addiction, so I was interested to read this memoir of that period of her life.
I was rather taken aback at her story - I guess as someone who started following her once she was in recovery, and seemingly a successful blogger, it was hard to relate that to the addict she is. In this book, she describes a life defined (for a time) by drugs. How to get them, who to get them from, scenes in crack houses, in trailers. She is consumed by when she is getting them next, and suffers from many, many relapses. Clearly, she displays an inability to parent her children, which culminates in her parents taking temporary custody of them.
The right combination of family support and professional help ultimately lead her to recovery, but not before several heartbreaking false starts. I am in awe of her strength over her illness, and her honesty in writing about truly shameful periods of her life, all in the hopes of being a better mother. Which, I believe, ultimately she is.
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