Atlanta
Journal-Constitution
"I'm Too Sexy for My Volvo" is the title of Betty Londergan's
first foray into the publishing world. The 200-page book is based
on her extensive experiences as a mother, presented with as much humor
as honesty.
"I've been
just about every kind of mother: unwed, single, married, step, stay-at-home,
working," said Londergan, who recently moved to Brookhaven with
daughter Lulu and husband Lawrence Schall, the newly installed president
of Oglethorpe University. "I could stand on any piece of ground
and understand what it was like, and I knew I could be funny about
it. I learned some things along the way and figured I'd share them."
It took 10 years, but she finally put the lessons learned raising
her ninth-grader into what she describes as "the antidote to
the 'you-should, you-must' motherhood guides that are as serious as
a heart attack and come with too much guilt." It's also a tribute
to Lulu.
"I admit it: I'm an overinvolved mother, and she probably doesn't
relish the full brunt of my emotional attachment," Londergan
said.
The book was so long in the works that a new series of Volvos, the
Volvo S, debuted during the process, casting a bit of a pall over
the title, the author said. "The S cars are actually kind of
sexy," she said. "Before that, Volvos were the kind of safe
transportation you got when you became a mom."
Ironically, it's Londergan's husband who has the Volvo. She drives
a Nissan Pathfinder.