My groovy colleague Michele L., an avid reader like myself (occupational hazard; after all, we're librarians) and a regular contributor to the Entertainment blog, told me about a book she loved written by a Scranton native that was the basis of a hit Off-Broadway show The Mother Load, which continues to tour the country (yes, even Scranton). The book is When Did I Get Like This? The Screamer, The Worrier, the Dinosaur-Chicken-Nugget Buyer & Other Mothers I Swore I'd Never Be and it features several reference to Scranton and even a couple of landmarks in Scranton; furthermore, its author Amy Wilson is a Scranton native.Before venturing in the the world of theater and writing, Amy Wilson was familiar to television viewers for her role as Molly Carver on The Norm Show (1999-2001). Amy also made appearances in TV shows such as Felicity, Daddio, and Law & Order: Criminal Intent. Her film credits include Kinsey and Kissing Jessica Stein. She also starred on Broadway in the Tony and Pulitzer winning play The Last Night of Ballyhoo.
In 1996, Amy was one of the writers and stars of the sketch comedy show Live on Tape.
A mother of 3, Amy used her experiences to write and perform the show The Mother Load, which was a hit off-Broadway and continues to tour the US.
On April 6, 2010, Amy Wilson published her first book titled When Did I Get Like This? The Screamer, The Worrier, The Dinosaur-Chicken-Nugget Buyer & Other Mothers I Swore I'd Never Be. Not only is the book hilarious, but it features lots of reference to her hometown of Scranton, PA.
Page 22
"So we took the two-hour drive to Scranton that weekend, and sat David's parents, then mine, down at their kitchen tables."
Page 56
"Like the majority of my peers, I had not been breastfed. I may have been a '70s baby, but that hippie stuff did not fly in Scranton, Pennsylvania."
Pages 79-80
"Granted, this was a particularly bad weekend, since we had taken our possessed child out of his element to our hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania, to attempt an exorcism."
Page 80
"(We had, of course, deflated and packed the ball for our trip to Scranton; I would sooner have left Connor behind than the ball.)"
"So we took the two-hour drive to Scranton that weekend, and sat David's parents, then mine, down at their kitchen tables."
Page 56
"Like the majority of my peers, I had not been breastfed. I may have been a '70s baby, but that hippie stuff did not fly in Scranton, Pennsylvania."
Pages 79-80
"Granted, this was a particularly bad weekend, since we had taken our possessed child out of his element to our hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania, to attempt an exorcism."
Page 80
"(We had, of course, deflated and packed the ball for our trip to Scranton; I would sooner have left Connor behind than the ball.)"
Page 96
"Growing up in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where everyone is Catholic."
"Growing up in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where everyone is Catholic."
Page 104
"In Scranton, Pennsylvania, when I had just turned four..."
Page 109
"Manhattan moms in the know plan their conceptions to occur sometime just after Chinese New Year, so that their children will have an ultra-desirable autumn birthday. Like I said, I'm from Scranton, so I don't know about that."
Page 142
"Each student at St. Clare School (K-6 school located in the Green Ridge section of Scranton) would be send home with a checkbook-green account of his or her progress."
Page 142
"Before I was old enough to get graded on actual subjects, the assessment scale at St. Clare School had a very simple rating system."
Page 172
"Those were the girls at St. Paul's School (Grades 6-8 school in the Green Ridge section of Scranton) who had their act together."
Pages 204-205
"If you needed help, your mother lived next door; at least that's how it happened in Scranton."
"In Scranton, Pennsylvania, when I had just turned four..."
Page 109
"Manhattan moms in the know plan their conceptions to occur sometime just after Chinese New Year, so that their children will have an ultra-desirable autumn birthday. Like I said, I'm from Scranton, so I don't know about that."
Page 142
"Each student at St. Clare School (K-6 school located in the Green Ridge section of Scranton) would be send home with a checkbook-green account of his or her progress."
Page 142
"Before I was old enough to get graded on actual subjects, the assessment scale at St. Clare School had a very simple rating system."
Page 172
"Those were the girls at St. Paul's School (Grades 6-8 school in the Green Ridge section of Scranton) who had their act together."
Pages 204-205
"If you needed help, your mother lived next door; at least that's how it happened in Scranton."
When Did I Get Like This? is available to borrow from the Lackawanna County Library System. To place a hold, click here.
Click here to follow Amy on Twitter.
Much thanks to Michele L. for another great reference.
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