"Our own precious Annie Oeth has penned Genius for us in BECAUSE I SAID SO. Matters not if one never parented a child--for certain, everybody WAS one, once--so the appeal and the truth are universal."
Jill Conner Browne, Multiple #1 New York Times Bestselling author and THE Sweet Potato Queen
"But whyyyy?"
"Because I said so."
It's the answer that rolls off the tongues of mamas from all over. In Because I Said So: Life In The Mom Zone, veteran mama Annie Oeth tells of the worries, laughter and sheer terror of being a mother.
Trips to the emergency room, college graduations and the dangerous combination of teenagers and fireworks are all fair game in this romp through southern motherhood. Spilling the (jelly)beans on Easter egg hunts, Santa Claus and frogs in mailboxes, Annie Oeth writes of life, love and raising children while hanging on to her sense of humor.
From stories of laughter to tales of tears shed, she remembers her own growing-up years in small-town Mississippi, her parents' 44-year romance and her own children's travels on their way to adulthood, crafting stories that will touch hearts and funny bones.
Anyone who's ever rocked a baby, worried over a teenager or seen family game night degenerate into a knock-down, drag-out can relate to these life lessons, straight from The Mom Zone.
Mamas are tender-hearted, but don't mistake their kindness for an absence of backbone. In these stories, the love, strength, humor and super powers of mothers are hailed for the wonders that they are. Whether you're a mama to sons who have an affection for reptiles and bottle rockets or a daughter who thinks you're wrong just when you've figured out your own mother was right, you'll love yourself, your kids and your life more after this read.
"Why?"
"Because I Said So."
About the Author:
A small-town Mississippi girl grows up, snatches a magnolia during her college graduation, and sets out to be a writer, newspaper editor and mama. Annie Oeth has done all three-and lived to tell the tale.
A native of West Point, Mississippi, Oeth began writing from her front porch swing when she wasn't climbing trees and drawing. She is a graduate of Mississippi University for Women, embarking on a journalism career and motherhood soon after. She's written for magazines, including Today's Christian Woman and newspapers such as The Commercial Appeal and The Commercial Dispatch in Columbus, Miss.
In 1996, she moved from Mississippi's smallest daily newspaper, The Daily Times Leader in West Point, to the state's largest, The Clarion-Ledger, in Jackson. Starting as an assistant metro editor, Oeth moved to editing a family of nondaily publications before returning to the daily product as features editor in 2012. She's been writing about family and fun for The Clarion-Ledger and in The Mom Zone blog ever since.
Family is the center of her life, and she enjoys watching the lives of her four children unfold. Like her page on Facebook and follow her on Twitter at @Annie0. She lives at Ridgeland, Mississippi.
