Local author describes 'Ups and Downs of Raising Four Boys'

VERNON — Boys will be boys.
It's that adage that underscores a charming book that describes, with humor, the challenges and triumphs of raising four boys. As she transitioned from working outside the home to being a stay-at-home mom with her two youngest, Gerri Russo of Highland Lakes, said it was her children who inspired her to write “The Ups and Downs of Raising Four Boys.”

“I missed reading books and studying when all I seemed to do was housework, change diapers, etc,” she said, “I felt like I wanted to rid the cobwebs out of my head and use my education to write.”

So write she did and created a conglomeration of poems that encapsulate the joys and challenges of motherhood seen through the eyes of a stay-at-home mom.

Russo grew up in Lodi, Carlstadt and Rutherford, New Jersey and attended Felician College, in Lodi. She got married in 1993 at the age of 21. She graduated in 1995 with a 4.0 GPA and her bachelor of arts degree in Elementary Education/English. She also was pregnant with her first son, Henry III.

“My childhood dream is on hold, but my own children teach me: kindness, patience, and most of all love,” she said, “I couldn't ask for anything more.”

A single mom for six years now, she's been back to work at a local supermarket, and her boys are now 19, 17, 10 and 8. Her eldest attends Susssex County Community College and works two jobs. Her second son in an honor-roll student and also works at the local supermarket where Russo works.

Her book describe her children's stages from toddlers to the teenage years. A daily routine starts with potty training to the end of a very busy day, finally getting everyone into bed.

"The Ups and Downs of Raising Four Boys" is Russo's quest to find humor in it all and is dedicated to Henry III, Christopher, Michael, Joseph and to all parents out there.

This is Russo's first book and it's available at Amazon.com and Barnesandnoble.com ranging from $9.99 to $15.99.