Critical Praise

“Salted with insights and epigrams, the book is argued with bracing honesty and flashes of authentic wisdom…[an] excellent book.”
   —Andrew Solomon, The New York Times Book Review

“[An] astute book… clear and helpful… refreshing…an eye opening debut, and it will help a lot of parents feel less alone, if not less frazzled.”
   —Janet Maslin, The New York Times

"An important book, much the way THE FEMININE MYSTIQUE was, because it offers parents a common language, an understanding that they're not alone in their struggles, and an explanation of the cultural, political, and economic reasons for them."
   —The Christian Science Monitor

“If you’re a parent in the year 2014, you have to get your hands on a copy of this book. Wise, engrossing, and so real that I fear perhaps Jennifer Senior has been spying inside my house, ALL JOY AND NO FUN is a must-read for those of us whose lives have been immeasurably enriched and logistically derailed by having kids.”
   —Curtis Sittenfeld, bestselling author of PREP and AMERICAN WIFE.

“Jennifer Senior’s excellent new book… is not prescriptive. She doesn’t tell parents to be more mindful or drink more wine or neglect their kids; she just wants them to understand why they are always so stressed out.”
   —Hanna Rosin, Slate

“Senior’s wise compassion provides guidance that’s both necessary and inspiring.”
   —Boston Globe

“Attention childless persons: If you’re thinking of having kids, and are looking for an accurate assessment of the experience, disregard the holiday cards you may have received that portray merry families in various stages of triumph. Instead, read Jennifer Senior’s book. This eloquent read is a tonic”
   — Huffington Post

“[ALL JOY AND NO FUN is a] richly woven, entertaining, enlightening, wrenching and funny book.”
   —Washington Post

“[The] glimpses into the conundrums of other parents are thought-provoking and fun to read”
   —Newsday

“Chatty, generous and yet statistically grounded reverse-angle of the usual studies of what parents do to children.”
   —New York Post

“If you are tempted to read just one more book on the arguably over examined subject of parenthood, let it be Jennifer Senior’s wise and surprising ALL JOY AND NO FUN.”
   —Elle

“Jennifer Senior successfully connects a barrage of scholarship with the real experiences of moms and dads, and the resulting book, ALL JOY AND NO FUN, is completely fascinating….”
   —BookPage

“A lovely, thoughtful book, written in a generous spirit and with a piercing intelligence. Jennifer Senior manages to mix unflinching social commentary with a warm and compassionate voice.”
   —Susan Cain, bestselling author of QUIET: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

“ALL JOY AND NO FUN captures the complex texture of parents lives, the joys and the sorrows, highs and lows, with remarkable insight, intelligence, sensitivity, and subtlety.”
  —Alison Gopnik, bestselling author of THE PHILOSOPHICAL BABY

“Jennifer Senior has written a wonderful, smart, and deeply reported book that challenges many of the most sacred assumptions about modern parenthood. Written with authority and wisdom, it is destined to be the one book that all parents take with them on their mad, hair-raising, and, yes, joyous odyssey.”
   —David Grann, bestselling author of THE LOST CITY OF Z

“Travelling far beyond the infant and toddler years into the acute challenges of adolescence, Senior ingeniously deconstructs the kinds of experiences that all parents have but few parents talk about. By taking the reality of parenting out of the closet, she reveals in countless ways that none of us are in this alone. I loved this book.”
   —Madeline Levine, bestselling author of TEACH YOUR CHILDREN WELL

“A brilliant synthesis of history and social science, [ALL JOY AND NO FUN] is an indispensable map for a journey that most of us take without one. Brilliant, funny and brimming with insight, ALL JOY AND NO FUN is an important book that every parent should read, and then read again. Jennifer Senior is surely one of the best writers --- and wisest moms --- on the planet.”
   —Daniel Gilbert, #1 New York Times bestselling author of STUMBLING ON HAPPINESS

“ALL JOY AND NO FUN is the perfect intellectual Rx for today’s overstressed parents: a calm, clear-eyed synthesis of all the reasons their lives seem to be falling apart. While scrupulously considering the ‘big data’ recent studies --- as well as findings by pioneers like Margaret Mead --- Senior reports from the collapsing front lines of our striving middle class. Yet this book’s triumph is the way the author’s own observations, presented with winning modesty and offhanded style, so brilliantly take down myths and assumptions to reveal why today’s parents find their experience of raising children so different from what their own childhoods had led them to expect. Amidst the bummers of modern parenthood, Senior finds jolts of transcendent meaning and satisfaction that liberate us from the “mazes of self-interest” that can otherwise dominate our days --- it’s why we persist in bringing into the world creatures destined to wreck our lives. This is a profound book about the meaning of love and how we raise not just our children but ourselves.”
   —Tom Reiss, author of THE BLACK COUNT, winner of the 2013 Pulitzer Prize

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