I Bottled My Mother: Grit, Grime & Growing a Business. The Mrs. Meyer's Story

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Simon and Schuster, Apr 28, 2026 - Biography & Autobiography - 216 pages
Monica Nassif didn’t just build a brand—she bottled a legacy.

I Bottled My Mother is the gritty, hilarious, heartfelt origin story behind Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day, the cult-favorite cleaning line inspired by Monica’s real-life mom, Thelma Meyer: a whip-smart, no-nonsense Midwesterner who raised nine children with little more than elbow grease, common sense, and a garden full of geraniums.

Part startup manual, part memoir, this is the candid story of how one woman turned domestic skills into corporate strategy, and a small soap company into a household name. From a chaotic Iowa childhood to a career in brand building and product development, Monica brings us inside the messy business of entrepreneurship—one that began on her kitchen floor and grew into a national retail presence with shelves in Target, Whole Foods, and beyond.

Told in short, sharp chapters with warmth and wit, this is a story about motherhood, business, and the power of building something honest, authentic, and good. For anyone who’s ever asked: “How do I make my way in the world using what I already have?”—this book is your bottle of encouragement.
 

Contents

THE REAL DEAL
STRONG WOMEN
iii
GROWING UP IN THE THUNDERDOME
xv
WORKING WITH PEOPLE
xxiii
FEAR AND FAILURE
xli
KNOW YOURSELF
i
CREATIVITY
i
DREAM
12
MIND THE MONEYRAISING THE DOUGH
xix
MIND THE MONEYCOUNTING
1
BUILD A BRAND
15
STEP UP AND LEAD
41
PARENTING
1
FOR THE LOVE OF CLEANING
LEAVING
EPILOGUE MY MOTHERS DAILY MEDITATIONS

EXECUTE
1

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About the author (2026)

MONICA NASSIF is an entrepreneur, brand builder, and founder of Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day. Known for creating beautiful, aromatic cleaning products that upended the CPG industry, Monica scaled her company into more than 20,000 stores nationwide before its acquisition by SC Johnson in 2008. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, Fast Company, and Real Simple. She lives in Minneapolis, where she continues to advise consumer brands and spend time with her two daughters. I Bottled My Mother is her third book.

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