Madeline Sheppard and Rachel Durocher released their first book in early July which takes a comedic look at motherhood and raising children. The illustrated book is aimed at parents, and Durocher emphasized, “It’s like Dr. Seuss from sassy moms, a children’s style book written for adults.”
“It will make other moms and parents feel validated and seen and know that they’re not alone out there,” Durocher added. “We’re all in the thick of it.”
Sheppard crafted the prose and Durocher illustrated the book. The title provides an apt description of what lies upon the pages — Pure Bliss – A Hilarious Parody Book About Pregnancy, Early Parenting, and Total Chaos/Bliss: A Picture Book for Those Navigating the Messy, Exhausting Stages of Pre and Post Early Parenting.
Durocher elaborated on the ‘Pure Bliss’ of the title. “Since our kids were little, whenever things became chaotic, we would say to each other, ‘this is pure bliss.’” The phrase stuck, and became somewhat of a motto for the mothers, each of whom is raising two young children.
Sheppard noted, “Most of the book is based on true stories, and we also spoke with other parents and grandparents about what their experiences were raising babies, and it appears that everyone collectively agrees that it is pure bliss.”
The promotional copy for the book noted readers can expect, “witty, rhyming commentary on every wild parenting stage [and] beautiful, full-colour illustrations that exaggerate the mayhem we all recognize.”
The two authors are sisters-in-law, and Durocher lives just north of Orillia, while Sheppard, originally from Burlington, now calls Newfoundland home. The distance didn’t dampen the writing process, as the two shared long phone calls and online discussions to hone the material for the book, most of which came from personal experiences, or from hearing stories from other parents.
While in the draft stages, the two found a publisher, Courtney St Croix of LeadHer Publishing, and now the book is selling well on Amazon, and is earning rave reviews from readers.
“Amazing reviews,” Durocher said, adding many readers are finding the book very relatable. “We quickly hit the Amazon bestseller list, and everyone seems to be loving it.”
With such great reviews and feedback, the two intend to launch another title in the future. The authors told BayToday a new one is in the works. “We’re going into school aged children this time,” Sheppard mentioned. “We started with pregnancy and toddlers, and the next one is going to be school aged pure bliss.”
While fans wait for that, Durocher and Sheppard will enjoy the pure bliss of knowing their debut book is finding its way in the world and providing lots of laughs along the way.
Pure Bliss is available in paperback from Amazon for $24.99.
David Briggs is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of BayToday, a publication of Village Media. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
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