It's been over a decade since Ariel Gore, in a caffeine-induced brainstorm, invented Hip Mama as her senior project in college. The zine that has grown up alongside Gore's daughter, has covered subjects from weaning to home schooling with a political edge and a puckish sense of humor. The Essential Hip Mama captures the heart of a decade's worth of earthy, honest, soulful parentingand topics from circumcision to dating, abortion to the (mistaken) belief that "mothers don't fart. " Gore has gathered in one volume the whispers and conversations heard in homes, on playgrounds, and in coffeehouses around the country. Reassuring and hopeful, The Essential Hip Mama is a brilliant testament that one becomes an "expert" simply through the act of mothering, echoing Gore's own words, "Whenever I've needed parenting advice, I've put out a call for submissions. " This paperback original offers the most hilarious and heart-wrenching essays from ten years of this quintessential alternative-parenting bible. "