I’ve been a long time reader of Meagan Francis’ blog The Happiest Mom, not only because any mom of five who can string together coherent sentences has my utter respect, but because her straightforward, friendly, and non-judgmental approach to motherhood is refreshing. So when I heard that her blog was the inspiration for a new book, you can bet I wanted to get my hands on it.

[See why you need a copy of this awesome book after the jump]

The Happiest Mom: 10 Secrets to Enjoying Motherhood is the book I wish I had read instead of all those baby books that gave me plenty of information on what was going on with my baby but not much on how exactly to deal with it without losing my mind. But hey, better late than never, right?

Whether you already consider yourself to be a happy mom or you could really use a healthy injection of positivity into your daily parenting existence, this book provides simple, manageable tips and thought-providing nibbles in a friendly, humorous voice for any mom. Each chapter is structured similarly, with a fun quiz that gives you some insight into your approach to open the discussion, then various lists and well-organized subheads to help you tackle the subject matter, plus real mom advice and related research-y type tidbits to round out the side bars. And it’s pretty. Very very pretty.

Francis covers a slew of helpful topics, from dealing with nosy advice givers and trying to keep up with the Joneses to how to take care of yourself and your relationship, all of which are aimed at making your life easier and well, happier in a way that make you go “Aha! I can do that” instead of making you feel worse for not having thought of it yourself. And really, I can’t think of a better new mom (or heck, seasoned mom) gift than a little more happiness in their lives. -Kristen

You can purchase The Happiest Mom book at our affiliate Amazon.com. And every book comes with a free subscription to Parenting Magazine. Pretty cool! Also, follow Megan on her blog The Happiest Mom.