Familyhood

I've been a Paul Reiser fan for years. I giggled my way through "Couplehood" I cried with laughter through "Babyhood" and couldn't wait to get my hands on "Parenthood" When it finally arrived at my door today I put down what I was currently reading and dug right in. I have to say, I'm not certain my hopes were entirely met. That isn't to say it wasn't good, or funny. It absolutely was. But I think this book was much different from his others...it was less about humor and more about thoughtful story telling. There seemed to be more nostalgia than laughs. Which, as I said, wasn't a bad thing, just not what I had come to expect from Mr. Reiser. This however, shouldn't have been a surprise. It's been a very long time since his last book came out. He's gone from a new parent to being midway into getting his youngest son out of school. I suppose it was time for the nostalgia to come in. While I didn't find as many gut busting laugh out loud moments in this book, there were some, and what replaced those moments was something just as fine....something you can relate to no matter what stage of life you're in..the only requirement is that, at some point in your life, you've had a family. The book illustrates the idea we've all held at some point, that familyhood, the process of being a family is a very delicate, complicated and flawed thing.

As a seasoned actor, writer, and stand-up comedian, Paul Reiser has appeared in many films and television shows, including co-creating and starring in the critically acclaimed NBC series, Mad About You. He is the author of the New York Times bestsellers Couplehood and the follow-up, Babyhood. His new show, The Paul Reiser Show, is set to air on NBC in 2011. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and two kids.