I Bottled My Mother

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.