265. Alternative READ: Suburban Diva : From the Real Side of the Picket Fence

Title: The Real Side of the Picket Fence
Author: Tracey Henry
Website of Author: http://www.suburbandiva.com
Publisher: Ephemera Bound Publishing
Website of Publisher: http:/www.ephemera-bound.com/about.php
Genre: Humour / Parenting / Family Relationships
Publication date: 2005
ISBN: 0-9771003-7-5
Length: 124 pages
Format: Paperback
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The Real Side of the Picket Fence ~ Tracey Henry
~ Ephemera Bound Publishing ~ Humour

"What a hilarious spectacle! A Peek into Suburban Diva's magic mirror reveals as many cracks as our own…"

Tracey Henry the "Suburban Diva" has a wonderful humorous approach when it comes to relaying the highs and lows of a modern married mum and the reigning "queen" of her family empire. Keeping true to real life, this is no fairy tale, and it doesn’t stop with the happy ever after ending. In fact, since she was wooed and married by her "Ralph Cramden" prince (as he was once referred to) and walks the courts of a life she has become accustomed to, raising her own royal subjects is just the beginning. And a frank and amusing portion of reality pie it is, too.

We are taken on a magical, but bumpy ride in a carriage to a land where the prince of her dreams can wave his magic wand of man's logic, uttering thoroughly modern words of wisdom like,

"Don't call when you are going to be late. Why be yelled at twice?"

This reminded me, (and probably every other woman on the planet) that the spectacle we make of ourselves behind closed doors in our suburban castles is in fact, no different to everyone else's.

When the queen is in succession, this Diva can and will talk about the most mundane chores, such as getting the short end of the shift stick and driving the crappy car, ("Car Wars") in an uproarious fashion.

If you are not laughing as soon as you pick up this book and read the introduction "Smudges on Glass Slippers" then all I can say is that there must be something wrong with you. Or maybe, it's just that you haven't yet met a prince (or princess) of your own and wandered down the woody path where green crusty snot turns your baby into a little green grinning ogre, as it is so realistically portrayed in a sub chapter titled "Shrek III".

There are many of these hilarious antidotes, one of my favourites, (and it was hard to choose as there were so many of them) is Ms Henry's version of taking her son to get his first pair of glasses. This is how she compared it to when she was first "fitted" with her own goggles, in her own guileless words,

"…the glasses weighed well over 27 pounds. I know this must be close to accurate; as this was that age that I stopped growing; because no longer had the muscle control in my neck to hold my head upright."

What makes this book special is that as a parent myself, I could more than relate to her daily quibbles, and the heady fumes of her Sally Hansen/Clorox concoction that that pollutes her life, even from across the pond here in the UK.


The Right Side of the Picket Fence is an exceptional read that will have you laughing out loud and nodding your head in agreement. Ms Henry is to be commended for retelling, with passion and wit, events which reveal the real "Diva" in all her crowning glory. The reader will revel in all the gory details as Tracey Henry gets this spectacle on the road, with as few potty stops as possible.


About the Author:

In between diaper changes, carpools and other glamorous tasks of motherhood, Tracey Henry is a freelance writer. She has had stories featured in Chocolate for the
Woman's Soul, II, A Cup of Comfort for Inspiration, A Cup of Comfort for Expectant Mothers, and numerous online sites, including the weekly column, "Suburban Diva," on Backwash.com. She and her husband live in
Florida with their three children.

Sassy's Personal Note:

I do feel I must add, I am slightly biased, because I also write with the Backwash team, however, when faced with the evidence of her own weekly column, no one can deny Tracey Henry's ability to write for the masses. Click here to be magically transported to Suburban Diva's castle in the sky…




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