How to Spread Sanity on a Cracker is essentially, a virtual venting session for moms. It combines cheesy recipes with funny parental anecdotes, sent in from mothers all across the country, including potty-training stories, grocery-shopping stories, tantrum stories, stories of parents who snapped in entertaining ways, etc.
The stories, at their best, are hysterically funny and deeply honest. I suspect anyone who’s ever had kids will find something in this book that will strike a familiar chord, raise a rueful chuckle of agreement, or even make you want to write in to the author with a story or two of your own.
The book has the feel of a warm and homey gathering of women, all circled around the cheese dip, topping each other with, “No, wait, let me tell you what MY kid did just the other day,” stories. Every parent needs that sort of thing now and again, and this book is a welcome stress-buster and mood-lifter.
The recipes could use a bit more variety – granted, the cheese theme is somewhat limiting, but about ¾ of them are simple variations on spreads and dips. This is not necessarily a bad thing, if you, like me, are particularly fond of cheese dip, but a few more diverse recipes would be appreciated, if and when the author puts out a sequel. One can do a lot with cheese. However, this is a minor quibble, and I can cheerfully recommend this book to any parent looking for a reason to smile and keep on going, along with a few interesting appetizer suggestions for that next venting session.
Reviewed by Catherine Langrehr for IndieReader