Books 4 Moms

Accidentally on Purpose: The True Tale of a Happy Single Mother by Mary F. Pols

Back of the Book:

At thirty-nine, movie critic Mary Pols knew she wanted to have a baby. But never—not in a million years—on her own. When she finds herself unexpec­tedly expecting, she plunges into the greatest adventure of her life. With humor, insight, and compelling honesty, Pols reveals what it means to compromise in the name of love and to find joy in an accidental life, suddenly brimming with purpose.

My Opinion:

Accidentally on Purpose is the book that CBS based their new series on, which premiers Monday, Sept. 21 at 8:30 pm.    I was one of the lucky ones who has not only gotten to read this fantastic book, but I also got to preview the series!  I watched the series first, and you can read my review on it here.  I loved the comedy.  It's funny, fresh, cute, and was a lot of fun to watch.  When I found out that I was going to read the book that the series was based on, I was thrilled!  I loved the sit-com so much that I couldn't wait to read the book.  I was not disappointed!

Mary Pols has a unique voice in telling her story with humor, sincerity, and love.  The brutal honest truth that she has laid out in her book is amazing and you laugh and cry right along with her at every life experience she has.  As a single parent who has "been there, done that",  her life story not only touched on my own feelings, but brought a new perspective on some of the other tragedies and triumphs of life.

This is definitely a book that you're going to want to read, whether you're a single mother or not.  Every woman will relate to her tragically funny dating life.   We've all had those amazing men that we can't seem to live without, who we can't ever seem to please.  Or gone through the blind dates, speed dating, online dating experiences.  Mary Pols speaks loud and clear for my generation of women and what we've dealt with in our dating lives and in starting a family.    You definitely won't be disappointed with this wonderful true story!

The Book v. The Show:

So what are the differences between the book and the show?  There are several major differences between them.  One thing is the relationship between the father of the baby and Mary.  Although they live together on the show and in the book, their romantic relationship isn't as present in the book as in the show.  The show also doesn't relate the dating problems that Mary has had throughout her adult life.  Personally I think that's a mistake on the show's part.  I think they should show a little more "truth" in how Mary Pols dating life has gone, both before and after the baby.  Happy and awkward aren't the only way to make  relationships funny.  There are plenty of ways to make dating horror stories funny, even if they are also a bit sad and tragic.  I think they'd appeal to a wider audience if the main character didn't have such "success" in her love life.  So far, for the most part, that is the biggest difference between the show and the book.

An Interview:

Along with getting to see the pilot of the series and reading the book, I was also on a confrence call with Mary Pols (the author of the book), Claudia Lonow (the executive Producer of the show) and Jenna Elfman (the star of Accidentally on Purpose).  I was one of many bloggers and journalists on the call asking questions of all three ladies.  Here are some of the questions that I asked or wanted to ask.

Jenna Elfman was asked what part of the Character of Billie in the CBS series, Accidentally on Purpose, did she find most appealing to her.

Jenna sais that what she loved about the character was that it was new humor that she hadn't done before and she loved it and wanted to express that voice.  She said to herself "I want to be her and want to be in that skin and be funny like that".  The way the character expressed herself was so unique that she couldn't stop thinking about the script and she was already a fan of the show.

Mary Pols was asked how she went from one year of having her book published to the next having a sit-com made from her book.

Mary Pols told us that CBS actually optioned the book before it was published. She adds "I basically did nothing.  My agent found an agent to shop it around and found these guys".  She didn't think it would happen but went ahead with it because "she could always use a new vacumm cleaner".

Another person asked of the show if they were going to tackle some of the more difficult issues that were dealt with in the book.

Claudia Lonow, the writer and producer of the show answered, "We're going to tackle some of the issues that Mary did, while still maintaining the form of a comedy."

Jenna Elfma was asked how she felt about portraying someone who was not only a real person but was also on the set of the show.

Jenna said that she felt that Mary probably felt more pressure by her attacking her with admiration and love because "I couldn't leave her side because I think she's awesome!"

Another question was how Mary felt to see the show and the people who were portraying her real life and the real people in her life.

Claudia Lonow explained that she's very protective of Mary and the story of her life.  That although there were differences in the show and the book, that she was still wanting the story to express the voice of Mary.

Mary Pols added that the way she felt it was healthiest to handle the whole situation was to let go.  To look at the show as completely separate.  That Billie, the character in the show, is a  different character, just inspired by my book.  That she's not attached to the outcome of the show's story and that the story of her book isn't going to change but the show is a sitcom and something in her life and in her book just wouldn't work in a sitcom.

I asked Mary Pols how she decided to add so many "dirty secrets" about her relationships and lack of relationships into her book.

Mary answered that when she was writing the book it just all came out.  That she wasn't really thinking that she was revealing so many secrets while she was writing them out.  She was just doing what she is usually doing as a movie critic, which is write the truth.  "I wrote the truth and tried to write my life as if it was a story".  It was only after she wrote the book that she realized that others thought she should be embarrased by some of the stories.  She wanted to write a book that she would like and the flaws are a part of the story.

Someone asked a follow up question to mine, which was how will Mary feel about her son reading the book.

Mary said that she didn't think that would actually happen.  That she had talked to another writer who wrote intimate books and had children, and they didn't want to read the books at all.  However, Mary said that if her kid does read the book, that there wouldn't be any surprises in the book for him.  That what he'll see in the page is sex and doubt, but lots of love for him and that she'll be there for him if there are any questions he has down the road.

Getting to talk with these three amazing and talented ladies was a wonderful experience.  It was great hearing their thoughts about the show, the book and their own personal experiences with being moms.

My rating: 5.0 stars

Product Details

• Author: Mary Pols
• Publisher: Harper Perennial; Reprint edition (May 5, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061256943
• ISBN-13: 978-006125694