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How Tough Could It Be?: The Trials and Errors of a Sportswriter Turned Stay-at-Home Dad [Paperback]

Austin Murphy (Author)

4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)

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Product Details

Paperback: 256 pages
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.; First Edition edition (May 3 2004)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0805074805
ISBN-13: 978-0805074802
Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 16.6 x 2.4 cm
Shipping Weight: 494 g

Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)

Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #667,768 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Product Description

From Publishers Weekly

Murphy (The Sweet Season) has been a Sports Illustrated staffer since 1984, covering everything from football and swimsuits to the Tour de France and the Olympics. Unfortunately, while globe-hopping and meeting deadlines, he was missing key events in the lives of his young children. A six-month sabbatical enabled him to explore a new, unfamiliar lifestyle as a Marin County Mr. Mom, while his wife "flung herself into her long-neglected writing career." Murphy soon found himself donning oven mitts, picking up dry cleaning, buying toothpaste and tampons, housecleaning, slicing onions (and fingers), carpooling to the elementary school and folding laundry. Despite pointers from his wife, meals remained a challenge: "There is homework enforcement and, if I'm on the ball, the preparing of tomorrow's lunches while cooking tonight's dinner." Skilled at capturing human interest details, Murphy writes in a fluid, anecdotal manner, displaying a sensitivity and homey humor that will be equally appreciated by men and women. Female readers will smile with satisfaction as Murphy attempts anger management while confronting "unpaid work to which there is no end." Asked how "the Experiment" is going, he compares it "to entering the ring with the unseen adversary. I never know where the next blow will come from." At the end of the six months, Murphy realizes he's "now equipped to be a bigger help for the remainder of our days together.... If I am not, like Thomas, a 'very useful engine,' I am at least a more useful engine than I was."
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Murphy, a senior writer for Sports Illustrated, has a way-cool gig, covering all the major sports, but he decided to take a six-month sabbatical as a stay-at-home dad while his wife pursued her career, also as a writer. The result is hardly a surprise: Murphy learns that domestic engineering is a tough job and that mixing love with discipline is even tougher. There are the usual comic set pieces involving off-to-school chaos and terrible dinners, but somehow Murphy keeps it fresh with self-deprecating humor, a genuine desire to connect with his kids on a higher plane than middle-aged playmate, and a crisp style that incorporates some of the absurdist sensibilities of Dave Barry. Despite Murphy's Sports Illustrated connection, the target audience here is the off-the-sports-page crowd. Don't be surprised if Murphy turns up on The View singing the praises of enlightened parenthood. Wes Lukowsky
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Inside This Book (Learn More)

First Sentence
I embark on this journey spectacularly ill-equipped to survive it. Read the first page

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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover

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Customer Reviews

7 Reviews

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
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Average Customer Review

4.3 out of 5 stars (7 customer reviews)

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5.0 out of 5 stars Laughed so hard I damn near cried, Jun 28 2004

Robert C. Montano (San Francisco) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: How Tough Could It Be?: The Trials and Errors of a Sportswriter Turned Stay-at-Home Dad (Paperback)

This is one of those books that you tell all your friends about. Two things stand out for me: the absolutely manic laughter it elicited and the benefit it gave me.

Murphy's writing style perfectly juxtaposes bawdy humor with an obvious intelligence; and when in doubt, he goes for the laugh. I laughed so hard at this thing that a couple of times it gave me an asthma attack. I think it helps if you have kids, and you recognize how ugly parenting can get.

But there is also a deeper benefit. Like the author, I finished the book with a better "vision," a clearer sense of just how hard, how maddening, and how unending the daily life of a woman is. I think I'm a better husband having read it.

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5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT read!, Jun 26 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: How Tough Could It Be?: The Trials and Errors of a Sportswriter Turned Stay-at-Home Dad (Paperback)

I read the book after watching Murphy interviewed on the Today Show. The book is just great with many laugh out loud funny moments. HIGHLY recommend! (Make your husband's read it!)

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3.0 out of 5 stars The Trials and Errors Over a 6 Month Experiment, Jun 24 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: How Tough Could It Be?: The Trials and Errors of a Sportswriter Turned Stay-at-Home Dad (Paperback)

I just couldn't get past the fact that this guy is a professional writer, as is his wife, who thought he might be able to sell some books on this unique subject. It honestly distracted me throughout the entire reading. His was an interesting experiment of a man working around the house for a few months. But hey let's face it, he is now back to his high-profile career of sports writing after having finished with this low profile writing project. Rent the movie "Mr. Mom," it's better.

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Most recent customer reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Choppy language
Okay, I must confess... I really did enjoy this book. The story was wity, and as another reviewer said, the narrator was very likable. Read more

Published on Jun 16 2004

5.0 out of 5 stars much funnier than I expected
This sounded pretty predictable and I expected sitcom humor, maybe a few laughs but familiar ones. But Murphy (whose work you may know from SI) is much better than that. Read more

Published on May 17 2004