The blogoshphere has been abuzz this past week after the release of “You Have Lipstick on Your Teeth”: And Other Things You’ll Only Hear from Your Friends In the Powder Room. I’d been hearing just how funny it was from all of those people who snatched up their copies the second it came out, and it quickly climbed Amazon’s best-selling humor list. The book was obviously hilarious. I needed to get me a copy!

And then as if by some divine intervention, one of my friends, who just happens to be one of the contributor’s in the book, asked if I wanted a copy to review. So naturally, I said, “Hells yeah!” (In reality, I said something more boring like, “I’d absolutely love to,” but that didn’t have quite the dramatic flair that I was going for here.) Getting a book for free and knowing it was going to have me in stitches? Win, win!

But, if I’m being honest, then I got a little nervous. And sort of wished I hadn’t agreed to write a review. Because you know when a movie, for example, is built up so much and you just can’t wait to see it so you buy tickets online to the mid-week matinée show (because let’s face it, you’re excited, but not a millionaire) and call in sick to work and then show up to the movie theater 45 minutes early so that you can have all the time in the world to go to the bathroom, get your 3 pounds of popcorn and 256 oz drinking jug, find the perfect seat, run to the bathroom a second time, and not miss one second of the movie because it’s going to be that good? And then you’re all like, “Meh.” Yeah, I didn’t want that to happen.

I’ve been following most of these ladies since I began blogging earlier this year, so I know just how funny they are. Nevertheless, I began reading with a bit of trepidation. But right out of the box editor Leslie Marinelli (of The Bearded Iris and In the Powder Room fame) shared a story about her mismatched boobs. Hilarious, check. The next story was about one author’s decision to tell her friend that her dancing moves verged on (read: were in fact) stripper moves. Hilarious, check. But then I was caught off guard by the third story — it was about the time the author confessed to her mother that she didn’t want children. This poignant piece had me chuckling in parts, but mostly had me thinking how real, how raw this moment in time was for her.

And so the rest of the book went — humor weaved seamlessly with poignance. Bursts of laughing until I had to retrieve some dry underwear (hey, I’ve pushed three children out down there) followed by bursts of just wanting to reach through the book pages to give the author a big hug for sharing such a vulnerable moment. Stories about confronting a husband about his disgusting scratching habit, peeing in a friend’s clothes, and masturbating grandmas juxtaposed with stories about not wanting to get married, raising a child with special needs, and constantly being under the influence of love. I was so pleasantly surprised by this brilliance that I stopped reading the book through the eyes of a reviewer, and simply read it through the eyes of a woman who could relate to practically everything in it.

And that, my friends, is my favorite aspect of the book. Not that it is funny — because it certainly is that — but because it is so damn relatable! Sure, we haven’t all had our passion for dental hygiene affect our relationship with our boss, or made the decision not to get married, or told our mom about the secret anti-BJ club we’re in (and no, I’m not talking about the chain discount club) . . . but, I’m sure we’ve all had those death-by-anything-is-surely-better-than-the-embarrassment-I’m-feeling-right-now moments, and moments when our decisions didn’t align with “the norm” or others’ expectations, and moments when we share things with our moms (or other parent figures) that other people would never imagine sharing because that’s just the type of relationship we have.

So, would I recommend this book? Yes! Would I recommend it because it’s funny and I adore the writers and am happy to call some of them real-life friends? That’s part of it. But it’s also real and accurately telling about many of the universal themes that those of us with two X chromosomes face, from childhood to womanhood.

For more info on the book, or to check out bios from all of the contributor’s, please click here.

And a big, huge thank you to Amy at Funny is Family for sending me the book.