By Lindsay Waller
Special to Inside
Does your mother-in-law still buy your husband underwear? Does she show up at your home unannounced? Does she dispense unwanted child-rearing advice? If so, you are not alone. Local author Renée Plastique and her good friend, Liz Bluper, are here to help with their new book, "Mothers-In-Law Do Everything Wrong (MILDEW)". The authors' names have been changed to "protect the guilty."
By sharing funny anecdotes and offering practical strategies for coping with this all-too-common marital challenge, these two MILDEW experts have penned an insightful book that transcends age, gender, culture, geography, and time. MILDEW, the playful acronym for Mothers-In-Law Do Everything Wrong, has allowed Bluper and Plastique to conduct covert conversations about their own MILDEWs for the past decade without their husbands being any the wiser.
As humorous stories began accumulating, Bluper and Plastique decided to broaden their MILDEW storytelling circle. Soon, this circle spanned the globe and MILDEW-sufferers from Iowa to India began sharing classic MILDEW moments:
"When I was pregnant with my son, MILDEW wanted us to name him after her husband, Ken. My husband and I, however, decided to name our son Jacob. MILDEW refused to accept this and proceeded to call our son Ken!" —Gretchen, Maine
"MILDEW gave me a Thigh Master for Christmas one year." —Margot, Connecticut
"When my husband and I went skiing one weekend, we had MILDEW come take care of our 2-year-old son. We came home to discover that the furniture in our house had been completely rearranged. We couldn't believe it! My father-in-law even had a bad back from moving the couches, tables, and rugs. As soon as MILDEW left we moved the furniture back." —Heidi, Washington, D.C.
From the all-too-revealing quiz to the laugh-out-loud stories to the "hey, that might really work!" strategies, this book gives new meaning to the word "MILDEW." Running the gamut from famous MILDEWs (such as the Queen of England) to everyday MILDEWs, the tales of pre-wedding horror, holiday chaos, and "helpful" child-rearing advice promise to keep everyone identifying with this universal, age-old challenge of married life.
The book retails for $9.95 and was just published by Andrews McMeel. It is available in bookstores including Barnes & Noble, Borders, and Waldenbooks. It can also be found at Barbara's Bookstore, at Amazon.com or on the MILDEW Web site at mymildew.com. |
