If you follow any of Gwenna's social media, you know what you're getting into with this book. I found a lot of the advice to be practical. The author does give a disclaimer that she is teaching from what she knows and parents in different circumstances may not find her book as helpful. I think this book is a great introduction to responsive parenting. It's very forgiving and values progress over perfection. It's a great mix of heart and humor.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to be able to read and review this book!

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishing Company for providing me this Advanced Readers Copy of Momma Cusses by Gwenna Laithland!

Momma Cusses felt like a heart to heart from a relatable (albeit slightly inappropriate) responsive momma mentor. I’m gonna be honest, I’d buy the book just for the forward written by her oldest daughter - it’s the words every cycle breaker longs to hear straight from the mouth of the firstborn who got both “versions” of her mother: reactive and responsive. The letter from her firstborn was so moving and exactly what every parent who is trying this new thing called responsive parenting wants to hear.

The book has profanity - truly, with a name like “Momma Cusses” you could hardly expect anything less, but it’s worth saying that Gwenna is fluent in four letter words and she doesn’t shy from utilizing them to their fullest extent- but unlike what I grew up with - this profanity laced parenting book doesn’t weaponize their delivery. They just exist - I don’t love profanity as I find it triggering, but I will say it was nice to see that they can be used in ways that do not demean, belittle or otherwise demoralize another human being of their dignity.

I really appreciated that Gwenna remained true to herself and her mission throughout the whole. It was very clearly her voice I heard in my head as I read and at no point did she try to own another voice. You know exactly what you’re getting into with her after the first 1.5 chapters and she delivers and over delivers: this book is packed with responsive parenting takeaways learned by Gwenna and self reflection on her journey to becoming more responsive, chapter after chapter disabling the triggers to debilitating mom shame, and she leaves you with the sense that she’s in it with you and walking alongside you and that you can do it. Also cheeky humor. Lots of hilarity. I appreciated the silliness. Spoiler alert, you must read to the very last. I guffawed. Millennials forever. 😆

I’d like to thank St. Martins Publishing Group and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I finished the ARC for Momma Cusses at the start of March, but held off on this review due to the boycott on St. Martins Press.

Let me start off by saying I have no children. Zero. I am not a parent, nor do I have any plans to be.
But this book was absolutely fantastic. I love Gwenna’s writing and encouragements — she makes everything very digestible and frequently repeats the most important messages.
I’ve been consuming Gwenna’s content (TikToks and the Childproof podcast) for about two years now, so I’d like to say I’m pretty well-versed in her methods and parenting style. That said, that’s the main reason why I docked a star from my rating. It’s not because the book itself is bad, but simply because I’m too familiar with Gwenna’s content to really get a lot out of this book (and, again, I’m not a parent).
Still, this is a great book about gentle parenting, and about how to apply it, accept your mistakes, and keep going. I would definitely recommend it to pretty much any parent.

I really appreciated how relatable this take on parenting was without sugarcoating the challenges. Gwenna's signature snark and sarcasm shine through as she tackles everything from losing your shit to dealing with mom guilt. What I appreciated most is that Gwenna doesn’t pretend to have all the answers or offer a magic formula for perfect parenting. Instead, she gives us permission to be human, messy, and still doing our best. I feel like that's so important in this current age of social media presentation and faux perfection.

The book's focus on responsive parenting over reactive parenting felt grounded and realistic, which was a relief compared to some of the more rigid parenting advice out there. Gwenna’s honesty about the emotional rollercoaster of parenting, combined with her humor, made this feel like a conversation with a friend who just gets it. I was skeptical going into this (as sometimes books by popular influencers have missed the mark for me), but I found this really helpful, an encouragement to take a breath and give myself grace, and for that I'm thankful!

Thanks so much to SMP as well as NetGalley for the ARC provided!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

Great, relatable for any parent. I still use the phrases in my own life. This author also has the best content on other social platforms.

The relatability of this book is off the charts. I was laughing out loud at both the words she used and the scenarios she described. Spot on!!!

Now, I didn’t get any knowledge or lessons out of this book, but my kids are older so that’s not why I picked it up. I really like Gwenna on social media and wanted to check out her book. So funny and real and unfiltered. I loved listening to it!

I loved this book! Gwenna is on point with terrific parenting tips. The audio was an easy listen and I found myself making notes as I listened. Highly recommend to other Parents, specifically those who are millennials like myself.

4 stars

I follow Momma cusses on Tiktok and absolutely love their content so when I heard there was a book coming out I absolutely knew I had to read it and I wasn't disappointed. This felt like such a good conversation with a lot of advice from a motherly figure. I really enjoyed seeing her perspective on things and am planning on taking a little of the things she talked about and implementing them in our household.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's essentials for an eARC in exchange for an honest review

There was a lot more text than I expected, maybe because I'm used to short "influencer" books. I wish there were more illustrations or graphics to break up the page.

I listened to this on audio & it was narrated by the author.
It was a fresh take on parenting with relatability.

I did receive this as an E-ARC courtesy of NetGalley! : )

This is the parenting book I wish I had had when my now grown child was little. I’ve followed Gwenna for sometime on social media and was happy to get the chance to read her book. It’s written with her normal wry humor and permission to release your own guilt. I would recommend this book to anyone with young children.

I thought this was really well written and I look forward to reading more from this author in the future. I think it will find readers at our library, so we will definitely be purchasing for the collection.

A great parenting book that allows you to release some of the guilt that often accompanies motherhood. Written with snark and sarcasm that allows you to laugh while relating to some of the not so fun parts of parenting. The author describes her take on reactive vs responsive parenting and the summaries of each chapter were very nice. Thank you net galley for the ARC.

Not for me. My kids are grown and I thought this sounded funny but I just didn't get it. Too much handwringing.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and author for the copy of this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve followed Momma Gwen on TT for years now! I love that she’s released a book allowing us further into her life. She’s so witty and entertaining!

I've followed Momma Gwen on TT for several years now and this books just brings to life her personality in written form. You've heard her give a few of these instructions and methods behind her parenting in her TT so I knew this book would be the real her. There is no right or wrong way to parent and each kid is different. So having these different ideas and solutions can work for all.

I will preface this by saying that while I was previously aware of Gwenna, I don't have a TikTok so was not super familiar with her work or style. I loved this book though-- I occasionally found the internet lingo a bit grating, but I totally get that that's part of her brand. The content itself was great, and she has a voice full of humor, compassion, and candor that made this a rare example of a parenting book that just felt 'real'. I am for sure going to buy a hardcopy for myself to reference moving forward.