Why Animals Sleep So Close to the Road (and Other Lies I Tell My Children)

Susan Konig's warm, witty, and all-true story of becoming a work-from-home suburban mother--think Erma Bombeck meets I Don't Know How She Does It--is winning and laugh-out-loud funny.

Lifelong city dwellers, the Konig family can barely turn around in an apartment that seems to shrink with each addition. With baby #3 on the way, their home is nearing the bursting point. But it's the smallest inhabitants, a bold group of mice who don't mind living with four humans and a cat, who finally push the family to seek larger quarters, an adorable bungalow with a backyard and attic space, in the 'burbs.

Trading mice for a too-friendly local skunk, the family settles in and discovers the unexpected joys and trials of owning a home (prone to sewer backup), driving a minivan (mobile Cheerios repository), and raising three small children (countless sticky adventures). As they learn the local customs--how to respond after backing into a neighbor's car, when to expect a twenty-four-hour plumber to be actually on call, how much to clean before the cleaning lady comes--Susan Konig recounts her domestic adventures with equal doses of widsom and charm.

Honed by years as a journalist, Susan Konig's eye for detail reveals the charm and humor in the everyday situations that await her. Her story will make suburban dwellers laugh in recognition, while city dwellers count their blessings.