As a mental health professional and a mom, I was especially intrigued by this ‘choose your adventure’ style self-help book, not just for my clients, but for myself.

Rebecca Fox Starr, LMSW, does a fantastic job normalizing the parenting experience, validating the challenges, and reminding parents that mistakes are part of the journey. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to parenting, and through evidence-based tools and tangible coping mechanisms, she empowers parents to make choices that work for them, without the guilt.

Like many mental health resources, the book’s approach isn’t fully generalized to diverse populations, particularly people of color. Some vignettes felt one-dimensional and lacked broader representation. That said, the core message remains valuable and can be adapted to different cultural contexts with some adjustments.

I’ll definitely be purchasing a copy for myself and my practice, and gifting a few to my mom friends this Mother’s Day.

Reviewing infancy, childhood, and teenage years, Starr highlights a multitude of the most common qualms of parenting. However, instead of following up with explanations of parenting advice alongside personal anecdotes of Starr's own tried and true methods or tales of trial and error, the reader is presented with a nostalgic "choose-your-own-adventure" format. Starr presents the difficulties of parenting, followed up with explanations pf the outcomes from several parenting decisions, helping the reader learn to make even better choices for themselves. One of my favorite examples was towards the beginning - "They Call Me the Baby Whisperer - A Boundaries Story". This is such a vital example as setting boundaries can be difficult for anyone to master. Starr's example describes a new mother weighing the pros and cons of allowing a visitor, followed by the options to 1. allow the visitor or 2. declining their visit. Each of these "choose your own adventure" options comes complete with a description of the outcome, thus helping the reader learn to understand the benefit of learning to set boundaries early on, no matter how small the request may seem and no matter how much pushback you get. As the book continues, the reader is also offered additional tools and strategies, such as opportunities to reflect, a chance to learn how to validate and change word choice, and learn through other visuals that Starr provides throughout the book to facilitate learning and understanding. Overall, this is an an enjoyable read, especially for those who are bored by traditional parenting books and are looking for something more interactive. One downside is that this book is more general, whereas other parenting books may be more specific or based in certain ideologies.

I am not a parent, but I picked this book out of sheer curiosity, and it didn't disappoint. The thought of parenting scares me, but I am a knowledge-hungry gremlin who loves reading about experiences not her own. It is eye opening to read about parenting -- both from a biologist's point of view and a writer's -- now I can craft even more compelling parents

('Oh, but Val, you write traumatised fantasy characters, do they even have parents?' 'SHUSH.').

Now this book, written in the form of a CHYOA doubles as a workbook of coping exercises, and is not your typical self-help sermon-filled book. And again, like the curious cat I am, I had to peek into the endless possibilities and read through all the choices. There is so much to learn that can be applied to more than parenting/being a parental figure.

Again, come on, you know better than to dangle an illustrated book in front of me and expecting me not to read it.

Would make an excellent gift for someone you know who is expecting a child, or is looking after one!

Fox Starr, a therapist, did something ingenious with "Am I Doing This Right": created a self help book for parents that teaches a variety of skills borrowing on techniques such as DBT and mindfulness, packaged in a light, approachable way by writing this in a "choose your own adventure" format.

You begin by starting "your day" as a parent, then based on the age of your child, the book tells you which page to flip to. Various parenting challenges unfold, and you have choices to make; you then go to the corresponding page based on what you decide.

One path, for example, took me through deciding whether to pick my teen up from school when the nurse suggested it sounded like an excuse; the coping mechanism of F.A.S.T. (communicate fairly, apologize, stick to values, and be truthful) was organically woven in to the vignette without feeling heavy-handed or obviously like a self help book, but instead you feel like you are learning something through the character. (It does, however, help you realize you are learning these skills by referring to the "Coping Mechanism Badges" you are earning throughout). In another place, the character copes with something upsetting using the DBT skill of Wise Mind (a balance of emotional mind and logical mind). It is written with warmth and empathy and is affirming of the challenges and imperfections inherent in parenting.

Thanks to Netgalley & Independent Publishers Group for the ARC.

I really enjoyed this book! While I’m not a mother, nor planning to be one anytime soon, I still thought this was a really interesting book and I loved how it showed support for any choice a mother makes. I also liked the unique style of the book, being a choose-your-own-adventure type style. Totally recommend!

A very fun format to provide research-based strategies to help moms at any stage cope. You are able to choose your own adventure! Some may only choose the path that they are currently on, while others will look forward or backward. As a newer mom this was useful and compassionate. I very much liked it.

A choose your own adventure of mom experiences where you can select how to handle each scenario and learn tools to get through it. Focusing on those difficult moments where you can feel alone and like every decision is the wrong one or is worthy of judgement. There are three stories per age group: babies, kids, and tweens/teens. There was a lot of empathy and compassion in these stories and the tools are useful to any new parent, though the pages are geared towards birthing parents.

I did find that the mom experiences were written from a very privileged, middle class perspective. While the author made a concerted effort to make the protagonist/reader as generic as possible, I’m not sure how relatable some of these stories are for many of the people reading this book who experience intersectionalities of identity. It should be noted that no one can create a book about motherhood that covers all lived experiences, but it was noticeable enough that it stuck out to me. Example: being able to delay going back to work until both children are in grade school.

I think this is a fun and innovative way to learn about the do’s and dont’s of parenting, but also a great tool to help others feel not so alone.

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

Am I Doing This Right? is a helpful and guiding 'choose your own adventure' type book of situations for mums of all age groups of children from baby to teenage.
The book gives scenarios that you then choose your own outcome of and provides practical and research-based coping strategies throughout the book. Readers may find they only need certain areas/age groups to use within the book but it's practical guide makes it universal and worth lending to friends and family for support and guidance too. The book is non-judgemental and encouraging with plenty of mindfulness strategies that there will be something within it for all.

Cute and empowering book for mothers everywhere! I love the idea of it being a choose your own adventure. Very engaging and different.

Rebecca Fox Starr’s Am I Doing This Right? Is an absolute gem for mothers at any stage of their parenting journey. This choose-your-own-adventure-style book is a unique concept and a lifeline for anyone grappling with the all-too-familiar mom guilt.

With humor, empathy, and an undeniable knack for understanding the complexities of motherhood, Starr guides readers through the chaos of raising kids—from sleepless newborn nights to navigating the challenges of adolescence. The best part? Every twist and turn of this book reassures you with one powerful message: You are enough.

Whether you’re a new mom or a seasoned pro, this book feels like a warm hug and a pep talk. It’s the perfect gift for any mom in your life—or for yourself—offering compassion, clarity, and the ultimate reminder that we’re all doing our best. I highly recommend it!

This choose your own adventure book was fairly short, fun, and informative which is a must in my toddler era of parenting! The tips and activities were also entertaining and helpful. I will definitely be gifting this book at all the baby showers.

I am so glad I read this book. Hospitals should be passing it out to all new parents!

This book looks at range of thoughts experienced by new mums that really help to normalise what a difficult time it can be. I saw some reviews which said that this book was too simplistic or didn't offer anything new. But I disagree. One, it's nice that it is simplified in comic form because I'm way too tired to work my way through a complex psychological text. Two, it did offer something new for me. I think most mum's worry they have bad thoughts that there is something wrong with them and this book is here to tell you that it's ok.

Such a cute idea for a parenting book! I love that this book is a combination choose-your-own-adventure, self-help, pep talk, and activity book for parents. I have a new baby at home and the baby chapters were spot on!

This would be a great book to keep on your shelf and pull off periodically throughout your kid's life, and it would make a fun baby shower gift.

This book uses a fun (and nostalgic!) format to discuss some serious and important topics. This book is designed to address moms of kids from multiple age groups, which means that it has a wider audience, but less of the book may seem immediately applicable to each person. However, the practical, research-based coping strategies that can be used in a variety of scenarios make this book useful to everyone. Some of the examples and phrasing may be triggering to some readers. However, the point of this book is to address difficult aspects of parenting in a compassionate, non-judgmental, encouraging way - and it succeeds in doing so. I recommend this book as a resource for parents looking for multiple mindfulness strategies in one resource.

Thank you to NetGalley and Familius Books for the free eARC. I post this review with my honest opinions. It is cross-posted on Goodreads andnwill be posted on Amazon upon the book’s publication.

Am I doing this right by Rebecca fox Starr is an excellent choose your own adventure book for parents or those who want to be parents, it was such a fun read, it really opened my mind to what parents deal with.