Mount Gambier Library will host local author Katie Roos, with the launch of I Love You, But F*ck Off, a raw and brutally honest survival guide to marriage, motherhood and meltdowns, on Sunday 2 August at 11:00am.
Katie is a mother of five children aged between six and 18, navigating the joys and challenges of raising a busy household with a range of additional support needs. With multiple diagnoses across her children, family life is fast-paced, unpredictable and full of competing demands.
"Our house is high-energy, needs and emotions. Two of our boys have Autism, ADHD and anxiety. One has Neurofibromatosis. The youngest, he quietly watches everyone and copies it all," Katie said.
"Motherhood is beautiful. It's also loud, messy, exhausting, hilarious, overwhelming, heartbreaking, and sometimes makes you want to lock yourself in the pantry with a coffee and pretend nobody knows where you are."
Katie's book was inspired by her own experience as a new mum, exhausted and struggling. Between feeds and rocking a baby to sleep, Katie found herself scrolling on social media.
"Every time I opened my phone, there was another 'perfect mother'. Perfect hair, perfect house, perfect baby sleeping throughout the night, perfect matching outfits. Meanwhile, here I was, sitting there with baby vomit on my shirt, leaking breast milk through my bra, surviving on coffee and wondering what the hell I was doing wrong. I thought I was the only one struggling."
For Katie, life was far from perfect, and in speaking with friends, they too were unhealthily obsessed with comparing the reality of their lives to the likes of influencers on social media.
Katie's book is an unfiltered guide to surviving morning chaos, neurodiversity and the mental load that comes with motherhood and marriage. Part essay and part interactive journal, the book is designed to help people audit their mental load, navigate neuro-realism, reclaim boundaries and help you celebrate the invisible wins.
"This book is for those who love their children fiercely yet feel tapped out by lunchtime. Someone who needs reminders that perfection is a myth, and someone that needs permission to be human before being a mum."
This is a free event with books available for sale and signing. For bookings contact Mount Gambier Library on 8721 2540 or book online via the Library website under 'Programs and Events'.
