Combining humor, honesty, and plainspoken advice, Momma Zen distills the doubts and frustrations of early parenting into vignettes of Zen wisdom. Drawing on the author's long-term practice of meditation, and inspired by her own struggles as a first-time mother, Momma Zen explores the timeless inner lessons of parenthood. The narrative follows the timeline of early motherhood from pregnancy through toddlerhood. The author takes readers on a transformative journey, charting her own growth beyond her naive expectations, sense of isolation, and disorientation to finding fulfillment in ordinary tasks, developing greater self-awareness and acceptance, and gradually discovering "maternal bliss," a state of happiness and ease. Each chapter opens with a classical Zen teaching story, koan, Zen poem, or Zen saying that encapsulates the lesson addressed in the chapter. Just as Zen wisdom is drawn from experience, Momma Zen captures the kind of wisdom that real mothers wring from their real lives—recognizably true, accessible, and empowering. Along the way, Miller explores the "hot topics" of contemporary parenting including discipline, television, materialism, attachment vs. independence, and nurturing one's marriage after having children. Chapter titles include Night Watch—A meditation on sleeplessness Small Failures—Why there are no mistakes in motherhood, even the unforgivable ones Living Change—Everything changes. How quickly can you? Trusting Yourself—In parenting, knowing nothing is knowing everything No Exit—How to embrace the challenges and complexities of motherhood and find real happiness