Anonymums Mum A Interview

Anonymums Mum A Interview

3 women, the truth and a whole lot of dares

This is the true story of a game of Truth or Dare dreamt up by 3 suburban mothers to liven the long days of mothering young children. It will make you laugh, it will make you cry, it will make you want to wear red lipstick….

"Most days, I feel like a zombie - a mindless, animated slave to two needy, demanding kids (my hunger, however, is not for human flesh, but for easy recipes with only two canned ingredients)" Mum A

"I sometimes feel that a walking-talking MumaTron has taken up residence in the girl I used to be and stuffed her in a small hole deep inside my body. Every once in a while I hear her screaming to be let out, but there's just no room for her in the tightly scheduled chaos that is my current life " Mum B

"Last week, I got a little over-excited at the supermarket and bought a small bottle of lime-flavoured milk. It actually felt daring, adventurous and I cackled to myself when I got home and slammed it down on the counter. But there has to be more to life than this. The thrills must exist outside of green milk. There's got to be more to life than a well-hidden Cadbury's Fruit & Nut bar, consumed while you stand at the open cupboard, careful not to crinkle the packaging lest anyone ask what you have there " Mum C

In order to add to spice to their lives, for 3 months Mums A, B & C would dare each other to do things. They also dared each other to tell the truth… The truth about motherhood. The truth about their lives. The truth about who they'd become compared to who they wanted to be. By turns jaw-achingly funny, touching, sad and sensible Anonymums proves that sometimes a dash of spice, good friends and ripping all the hair from your body (dare number three) is all you need to get back on track.

Who are the Anonymums? Well, now. That would be telling, wouldn't it?! We can tell you that one wasn't born in Australia. Two live in the city and one is rural. One Mum is closing in on a PhD, one has a standard-issue undergrad degree and the other didn't go to uni, but is madly successful in her field. They are an odd mix. So much so, it once gave them a laugh when they caught sight of themselves in a mirror - 30, 35, almost 40; tiny, average-sized, tall; dark, standard Caucasian and best-kept-off-the-beach. Perhaps it's our differences that make them such a force to be reckoned with!

Anonymums
Harper Collins Australia
ISBN: 9780732291693
Price: $27.99

Interview with Mum A

Question: What is Anonymum about?

Mum A: Anonymums is our story - the story of three mums, bored out of their minds in suburbia. To add a little bit of zing to the everyday routine, we decided to play a game of truth and dare with each other. We got our zing. And then some.


Question: What inspired the game of Truth or Dare dreamt up by you and two other suburban mothers?

Mum A: In one word, stagnation. Life with small children isn't all doing the hokey pokey - it can be extremely monotonous. A weekly playgroup/swimming lessons/grocery shopping/chops on Tuesdays routine is very helpful, but can begin to drive you slightly insane after a number of years. So, when I (Mum A) spotted a game of 'truth or dare' being played on Saturday morning TV, I listened to the spark inside me that wanted to play along and invited Mums B and C along for the ride.


Question: What types of dares do you participate in?

Mum A: We wanted to keep our dares simple and about the mum in her natural environment (no jumping out of planes etc. - Mum B is quite firm on her dislike of jumping out of planes). The dares are all very different, but I have to say my personal favourite is when Mum C and I made Mum B wear red lipstick for an entire week. Yes, even to swimming lessons and in her pyjamas. It was a fascinating social experiment (read: it's fun to mess with other people's lives).


Question: How important is it to tell the truth about motherhood?

Mum A: I don't think the three of us could stress how important it is. Motherhood, especially new motherhood, can be quite isolating. If you feel like you're the only person feeling the things you feel at certain points in time that can be even more isolating. Especially if you believe everyone else is doing it so well. I think motherhood would be a lot easier if we all told the truth a little more.


Question: What do you enjoy most about motherhood?

Mum A: The three of us all enjoy different aspects of motherhood. Mum B runs an all-male, all-the-time household and she revels in being up with the boy stuff (if you need to know anything at all about Ben 10 or Zac Power, she's your go-to gal). Mum C enjoys the unexpected laughs and joy her son gives her (in our book, she talks about how things weren't so rosy for her at the start of motherhood). And me? Now that my kids are getting older, I'm really enjoying seeing their personalities develop. I hadn't had much experience with babies before having my kids and I don't think I quite realised they're actually mini people, with likes and dislikes and views on pretty much everything.


Question: Why do you wish to stay 'anonymous'?

Mum A: By maintaining our anonymity, we can be more truthful and say what we truly want to say. We don't need to worry what our friends, families and even our partners will think. When we first began writing, I don't think we knew how freeing this could be. Now, we're hooked!


Interview by Brooke Hunter