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In the vein of Where’d You Go, Bernadette and Fleishman Is in Trouble, a wickedly funny and incisive epistolary debut novel following a mother trapped in the rat race of NYC parenting as her life unravels.

It takes a village...just not this one. 

Annie Lewin is at the end of her rope. She’s a mother of three young children, her crypto-VC husband is never around, and the vicious competition for spots in New York City’s kindergartens is heating up. A New York Times journalist-turned-parenting-advice-columnist for an internet start-up, Annie can’t help but judge the insanity of it all—even as she finds herself going to impossible lengths to secure the best spot for her own gifted and precocious son, Sam.

As Annie comes to terms with the infinitesimal odds of success, her intensifying rivalry with hotshot divorce lawyer Belinda Brenner—a deliciously hateful nemesis, what with her perfectly curated bento box lunches, effortless Instagram chic, and expertly coiffed son Brando, who’s been studying Suzuki violin seemingly from birth—pushes her to the brink. Of course, this newly raw and unhinged version of Annie is great for the advice column: the more she spins out, the more clicks and comments she gets.

But when she commits a ghastly social faux pas that goes viral, she’s forced to confront a single question: is she really any better than the cutthroat preschool parents she always judged?

A shimmering epistolary novel incorporating emails, group texts, advice columns, newspaper profiles, and more, Plays Well with Others is a whip-smart, genuinely funny romp through the minefield of modern motherhood. But beneath its fast-paced, satirical veneer, Brickman gives us a fresh, open-hearted, all-too-real take on what it means to be a parent—fierce love, craziness, and all.  

“I devoured this book with a fervor usually reserved for my nightly bowl of ice cream. But unlike my ice cream, this book was filled with genuinely good stuff—keen insights, sharply observed characters, and astute takes on the sometimes psychotic world of parenting. Also, it is really funny. Sophie Brickman is a phenomenal writer, and this novel spoke to my heart.”
—Ellie Kemper, Emmy-nominated actress and author of My Squirrel Days

“Plays Well with Others is one of the funniest books I’ve read in years—a wildly inventive, rule-busting debut that begs to be read in a single sitting. Brickman perfectly captures the absurdity of the way we live now, from the mirage of social media to the blood sport of school admissions. Beneath all the satire, though, is tremendous heart, and a moving exploration of what it means to be a parent in a bewildering world." — Grant Ginder, author of The People We Hate at the Wedding

“Plays Well with Others is a satirical triumph that delighted me from start to finish. Sophie Brickman is an expert parodist and the targets she's chosen (mommy blogs, celebrity profiles, private school dispatches) couldn't be more satisfying. Brutally witty, richly observed, and laugh-out-loud funny, Plays Well with Others was an absolute joy to read.”
— Simon Rich, author of Glory Days

“A delightfully hilarious and wildly recognizable portrait of parenting. I actively ignored my own children to finish it—I think Brickman's protagonist, Annie, would approve!”
— Emily Oster, Founder of ParentData and New York Times bestselling author of Expecting Better

When Sophie’s first daughter was born, her husband, a tech entrepreneur who swears by the power of Silicon Valley to improve all our lives, starting bringing home baby-related tech gadgets: next generation monitors, heart rate bands, apps that tracked this or that metric, all allegedly with the purpose of reassuring you that your child was thriving, and you were doing fine as a parent. Of course, they only succeeded in driving Sophie totally nuts, so, in an effort to get to the bottom of which tech can help, which can hurt, and which should be shoved in the freezer until the new millennium, she started calling up experts. The result, Baby, Unplugged, is a personal story of the first few years of parenthood, buttressed by reporting and analysis that clearly, and with humor, lays out what we’re losing when we rely on tech, where it can be implemented successfully, and what the future of parenting might look like. Her second daughter came along just after she sold the book proposal, and joined her older sister in being a gracious guinea pig.

“Well-researched and unvarnished conclusions.” — Wall Street Journal

“Equal parts informative and entertaining, journalist Brickman’s debut explores parenting in these tech-drenched times…..For parents wondering whether to bring gadgets into the nursery, this will be an invaluable tool." — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Sophie Brickman has crafted a comprehensive, personal, hilarious exploration of all the ways technology touches our children’s lives, for better and for worse. Baby, Unplugged explains the terms and conditions of our wired families; read this book before you touch one more ‘on’ button.” — David L. Hill, MD, former chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics Council on Communications and Media

“In Baby Unplugged, Sophie Brickman doesn’t shy away from uncomfortable conversations or uncomfortable conclusions about herself, her generation or why technology is often compensating for historic failures to support parents and kids. This is a book for parents, grandparents and anyone who loves kids or is curious about childhood, including their own. It is also fantastically well-written, both challenging and fun to read and deserves a place on your bookshelf.” — Chelsea Clinton

“If you feel overwhelmed by your digital existence, definitely make time to unplug and read this book.” — Boston Globe

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