with Brandy Ferner!
Writer, podcast host, and parenting expert Brandy Ferner. Her debut novel, Adult Conversation, comes out May 5, 2020, She Writes Press).
Ferner is a parenting expert whose writing has previously appeared on Good Morning America, the Huffington Post, Romper, CafeMom, and TODAY Parents. She is also a doula, childbirth educator, and birth trauma mentor, who specializes in helping women through transitions into motherhood.
Adult Conversation
is a frankly told story about two women who embark to reclaim autonomy against the stifling expectations and demands of marriage and motherhood, and hit the road on a hilarious odyssey through the seedy depths of Sin City, the modern day gomorrah otherwise known as Las Vegas, Nevada. What culminates is a tale of self-discovery, empowerment, and the importance of female friendship.
Comedic podcast host, parenting expert tackles absurdities and double standards of motherhood and marriage
ALISO VIEJO, California – In her hilarious debut novel, “Adult Conversation: A Novel” (May 5, 2020, She Writes Press), podcast host and parenting expert Brandy Ferner takes readers on a wild journey toward self-rediscovery amidst the absurd expectations and double standards placed on women in motherhood and marriage. With a mix of Ali Wong-style edgy humor and therapeutic insight, Ferner says out loud what others will not as she delivers a fiercely relatable and empowering read that highlights the importance of reclaiming autonomy, the liberating power of female friendship, and the desire to bail on your family and high-tail it to Las Vegas. Growing up, many women are taught to be invested in a very specific version of the “American Dream”: a perfect marriage, a perfect family, a perfect house, with only organic produce. But what happens when mothers continually sacrifice their needs and sanity in pursuit of perfection?
April is a thoughtful yet sarcastic mother of two who tries her best to be a caring, connected mom in a middle-class culture where mothering has become relentless. April rages at modern motherhood’s impossible pressures, her husband’s “dad privilege,” and her kids’ incessant snack requests. She wants to enjoy motherhood, but her idealist vision and lived experience are in constant conflict with one another. Is she broken — or is motherhood?
Desperate for an answer, she seeks out a therapist, and unexpectedly lands with a woman whose validation and wisdom gives April the clarity to reclaim herself and even start designing clothes again—her pre-motherhood passion. But when the ever-elusive babysitter cancels last-minute, April finds herself back at square one. She seeks guidance from her therapist who is now dealing with her own crumbling marriage—and instead of counseling April, she convinces her to speed off to Las Vegas to help catch her husband cheating. With a little weed, alcohol, and topless pool hopping, plus a male stripper and some much-needed autonomy, the two find lost pieces of themselves that motherhood swallowed up. But neither is prepared for how tested—and tempted—they will be, or for the life-altering choices their journey will force them to make. Who is guiding whom anymore?
Praise for
ADULT CONVERSATION: A NOVEL
“Ferner’s book is at times laugh-out-loud/ so-funny-you-have-to-repeat-aloud-to-the-person- nearest-you, and at times viscerally poignant in how accurately she portrays motherhood — as well as how tenuous working-outside-of-the-home can feel!”
Dr. Darria Long, ER doctor, bestselling author of ‘Mom Hacks’,
national TV regular contributor, and mom
“Ferner nailed it in this sharp-witted debut about the roller coaster ride that is motherhood. Her observations are not only relatable and authentic, but laugh-out-loud funny. You will not be able to put it down, just like your children.”
Emily Liebert, USA Today bestselling author of Pretty Revenge
ADULT CONVERSATION: A NOVEL
Adult Conversation: A Novel
Brandy Ferner | May 5, 2020 | She Writes Press
Fiction - General, Family Life, Humorous, Women
More about BRANDY FERNER
Brandy Ferner is a mother, wife, and the creator of the Adult Conversation podcast, social media pages, and blog. Her writing has been featured on Good Morning America, HuffPost, Romper, CafeMom, TODAY Parents, and more. In addition to writing and fulfilling her kids’ endless snack requests, she spent the past decade working as a doula, childbirth educator, and birth trauma mentor, ushering clients through the intense transition into motherhood. The insight gained from watching moms crack wide open—literally and figuratively—and her own experience as an independent woman who suddenly traded autonomy for snuggles, led her to say out loud the things that modern mothers are thinking. Sometimes it’s serious, sometimes it’s comedic, but it’s always honest. She currently lives in Southern California, and her love language is sleep.
In an interview, Brandy can discuss:
Parenting, childbirth, and birth trauma
Women in media
Feminism and domestic gender politics
The unequal gender roles in parenting
The problem with the self-care trend
The shock of losing your identity when becoming a mother and the work of finding it again
The trickiness of marriage post-kids
“Dad privilege” - a term that refers to the built-in free pass Dads get
How moms have to learn to speak up for what they need
What no one tells you about motherhood
Why modern motherhood is relentless, different from past generations
