Amanda Lamb: 'Girls Gone Child' released

Ever since I wrote my first parenting humor book, "Smotherhood" (Globe Pequot, 2007), people have been asking me when I was going to write another one. The truth is that I started working on a sequel soon after "Smotherhood" was published, but I got so caught up in writing, publishing and marketing my true crime books, that I put the manuscript on the shelf.

Finally, I have taken it down, dusted it off, freshened it up and decided to get it out there. "Girls Gone Child" is the continuation of the Smotherhood journey, from the cradle to the classroom, where babies turn into children, and parents who think they have it all figured out, think again. It also marks my return to my first true love in writing: humor.

As parents, we sometimes have the misconception that when the diapers come off, and we sell the stroller at a yard sale, that we’re home free. What we don’t realize is that we’re trading in one set of hurdles for another. All of a sudden, we have these critically thinking little human beings walking around in our lives, challenging our beliefs, and the world around them. Raising children is much more complex than feeding a baby a bottle, or rocking her to sleep.

Molding little minds is a challenging journey that parents undertake without the help of Mapquest, a GPS, or even a flashlight. We wade through complex issues like religion, diversity, and body image with little people who have little use for political correctness and who often disagree with our world views.

"Girls Gone Child" is about the transition from raising babies to raising children. It is a real, honest, humorous examination of what kids say, what they think, and how we as perpetually imperfect parents handle their foibles, as well as our own. It is also about what we as adults learn about ourselves in the process of molding little minds. They force us to re-examine our own views, our own prejudices, and our own shortcomings. In short, while we believe we are raising children, they are, in fact, raising parents, one baby step at a time.

Thank you for your support and encouragement. My resolution for 2011: to write what feeds my soul.

(Please check out Girls Gone Child on Amazon's Kindle. It will also soon be available on the Barnes and Noble Nook and in paperback from both online providers.)

Amanda is the mom of two, a reporter for WRAL-TV and the author of several books. Find her here on Mondays.