Instant Mom - by Nia Vardalos (Paperback)

About the Book

Vardalos' hilarious and poignant true chronicle of trying to become a mother while working on her career and fielding nosy 'frenemies' and Hollywood reporters asking, "Any baby news?" With her signature wit and candor, she describes her and husband Ian Gomez's bumpy road-to-parenting, and how they found their daughter. Instant Mom explores innovative ways to conquer the challenges all new moms face - from sleep to personal grooming - plus includes a resourceful how-to-adopt Appendix. With her first steps into the Parents Club, Vardalos learns that whether via biological, marriage, or adoption ... motherhood comes in many forms.

Book Synopsis

In Instant Mom, Nia Vardalos, writer and star of My Big Fat Greek Wedding, tells her hilarious and poignant road-to-parenting story that eventually leads to her daughter and prompts her to become a major advocate for adoption.

Moments after Nia Vardalos finds out she has been nominated for an Oscar for the screenplay for My Big Fat Greek Wedding, she is alone and en route to a fertility clinic, trying yet again for a chance at motherhood.

Vardalos chronicles her attempts to have a baby, and how she tries everything--from drinking jugs of green mud tea, to acupuncture, to working with two surrogates. Finally, she and her husband, actor Ian Gomez, decide to try adoption and discover a free service: Foster Family Agencies. Then one day, the social workers "match" her with an almost-three-year-old girl, who she knows, instantly, is her daughter.

With her signature wit and candor, Nia Vardalos reveals what really came next--the truth of how she and her husband transitioned a preschooler into their home. Vardalos opens up about the bawling-tears and belly-laughter that all make up what it means to be...a parent.

From the Back Cover

Instant Mom is a hilarious and touching memoir, chronicling how Nia Vardalos broke into the film industry, had dinner with the Queen of England, and then, impossibly, found her daughter when she was almost three years old. Even before she was filming My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Vardalos firmly believed she was supposed to be a mother. But as time went by, she realized that modern medicine and Mother Nature had her in a headlock. Suddenly, she made a choice that shocked friends, family, and even herself: with only fourteen hours' notice, she adopted a preschooler. Vardalos is refreshingly candid about what happened next. She wittily explores challenges all new parents face, plus includes a comprehensive how-to-adopt section. Ultimately, Nia Vardalos realizes that "some families are created in different ways, but are still, in every way, a family."

Review Quotes

"Laugh-out-loud and painful-in-the-shins....The author holds nothing back as she chronicles the years leading up to the adoption." -- Kirkus

"I expected to laugh. I didn't expect to cry. And I certainly didn't expect to laugh and cry on the same page. Instant Mom is for anyone whose life plan didn't follow the path they anticipated, and shows us that unexpected obstacles can lead to beautiful rewards." -- Rachel Dratch, author of Girl Walks Into a Bar

"Funny, smart, and full of grounded wisdom that shines much-needed light on adoption I couldn't stop reading this hilarious and gripping rollercoaster of a story. Nia is an authentic, rocking female role model in so many ways...and being an instant mom is just one of them." -- Jewel

An instant classic. Refreshingly candid for all parents-plus anyone considering adoption. (I was adopted!) We know Nia is many things: writer, actress, director, musical theater lover! Here, though, you learn she is a mom first. Pure, beautiful honesty." -- Kristin Chenoweth

"Readers can feel the tension between desire to share her joy and good fortune and wish to maintain her child's privacy. Vardalos offers candor, humor, and poignancy in her account of adoption and parenthood as she pokes fun at parenting memoirs but delivers on emotional impact." -- Booklist

"If you have ever considered bringing a child who isn't an infant into your family, it's the book you'll want to read. And if you just enjoy a good, honest memoir, it's the book for you, too." -- New York Times' Motherlode Blog