Everyone has their secrets, their little guilty pleasures that they don't tell anyone about. Well my friends I am exposing my secret for the world to see. I love the Real Housewives of New Jersey. There I said it and I feel a little freer. Yes they are a little nuts and I know I know from NJ but I love this cast of characters. One of my favorites is the strong opinionated and leader of the Jersey pack Mrs. Caroline Manzo. I just liked her from the beginning: her 'head of the family'take on situations, her devotion to her husband and family, and her no nonsense attitude towards any situation made her have a special place in my heart. I will even admit that in certain family unpleasantness I have often thought wwbd (what would Buffy do) but when slaying them was clearly not an option I would turn to my second best, wwcd (what would Caroline do). With her new book Let Me Tell You About Something- you no longer have to wonder. In this 215 page book Caroline
dishes about her life her trials and how to face them. Giving advice on how to raise your children, how to find and nurture romance, and even how to make amazing meatballs. But if you're looking for gossip on her fellow cast mates this is not the book for you. While Caroline does share a look behind the scenes of the shooting of the show and her interest in auditioning for the show- the only dirt you're going to get is how they handle production and how they interact with the production team (with a decent amount of pranks) and the like. This was not a surprising move on Caroline's part and I was happy that she left all the BS out. This book was simply Caroline being Caroline and giving out her years of wisdom. Caroline didn't need any of those antics that make us watch the show in this book- because her fans really want to hear what she has to say.
While reading you can actually hear her speaking through the pages. She doesn't put on airs or act like she knows it all- she just tells it how she sees it. It's more like having a conversation with a friend- you don't get the feeling that you HAVE to listen to her in order to live a complete and successful life. Caroline uses her experiences as a daughter, mother, and wife and shares with you how she would handle those hiccups in life that we all face.
I particularly enjoyed learning how she dealt with her kids. Forgoing grounding but instead enacting punishments like taking away a game system- but not hiding it instead leaving it on the table as a constant reminder that they screwed up. The way she describes it is funny but in truth I thought it was a very smart way of discipline that I will be holding in my back pocket for future use. I also liked how she and Albert both had roles in bringing up the kids even with him being away a lot for work, making the rules and Doling out punishments together and keeping the flow of information strong between them. They never let the kids turn them against each other, something we all know can happen. This kept their family strong and their relationship as husband and wife consistent.
There are excerpts from fans asking her for advice and how she answered those questions as well as a list of her top five proudest moments. You get a true and undiluted look at her life and how she has dealt with it- and she didn't spare anything. From miscarriages to romance she covered it all. I was particularly surprised at an excerpt in the "love" section of the book where she discusses cheating. To be honest it was not something I would think she would approach- I am not sure why she does breach a multitude of different topics on and off the show- but shocked I was none the less. She herself never admits to straying however she states a firm belief that if someone does stray there is a reason and the reason behind the action is what's important, not the action itself. I thought it was a very modern approach from a self proclaimed "old school woman" and this just made Caroline Manzo more human in my eyes and more wise than I thought before.
So if you hold your own NJHW obsession secret or out in the open and love Caroline Manzo as well, definitely pick up her book. It is a touching look at life as a true housewife turned celebrity that will have you eager to turn the page and will keep you thinking about the words written upon it
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