(BTW, this book, The Mother in Me, is awesome! I bought several copies to give as gifts to mommas I know. It's the kind of book I wished I had had when I was a momma of little ones. (Yeah, it's all worth it (a million times over) but there were days when I wondered, and wondered if there was anyone else who wondered. And this book would have helped me see that I'm not. And that that's part of the plan.)
It's really the kind of book that will appeal to lots of readers, though.
I'll share one of my favorite quotes from the book here, just to give you a glimpse:
"Since Heavenly Father has purpose in all that He does, He knows that sending children into this home will not be a perfect experience. Maybe some of my children's success is from watching my failures. Sometimes I yell; sometimes I lose my temper; sometimes I speak without thinking. My children watch me do all these things.
"Then they watch me fix it....
"They watch me make amends, apologize, repent....They watch the Atonement play a part in my life. Maybe part of the purpose in sending children to imperfect homes is to teach them how to fix mistakes."
(And I know I am supposed to include a name and a page number, but I am going to ask forgiveness of my friend who wrote this, rather than permission, because I want you to be able to discover this wonderful truth in the book on your own as it unfolds; the context makes it all the more powerful. Ahhh...you just have to love good writing.)
There are many, many moments in this book that will make you pause, ponder, smile, or weep. (I even threw the book across the room at one point -- not because the writing was awful, but just because I was going through an awful time and it really struck deep.)
But then again, you will find that book-throwing happens to the best of us -- you will, that is, if you read the book! :)
Have I piqued your interest yet? GO COMMENT, then! And if you don't win the giveaway, put this one on your list -- for you and for women you know who cherish motherhood but struggle with their humanness in that ever-important role. Or for those who have been there, done that (or may still be waiting to be there, do that), but love good, honest writing. (This is not one of those fluffy books that makes motherhood look like something you treat with kid gloves, or makes it all appear like it's all bliss. It's real, and I love that.)
And when you get it, come back and tell me what your favorite story or poem was. (FWIW, if I had to pick a favorite, it's on page 26. But there were so many things I loved in this book. And since it's a compilation of essays and poetry, there really is something to reach out to every reader.)
(I know. It's awful posting posts like this two days before Christmas. I'm sorry, but it's Christmastime! I've been, you know, getting ready for Christmas! And yes, I will admit...I'm a book junkie....)
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2 comments:
Your blog is great! Merry Christmas =)
I should clarify something, because I think this post may have been misunderstood. In sharing that quote from the book, I in no way meant to justify bad parental behavior. And I think it's safe to say that neither did the author of the essay from which that quote was taken. We should always, always be striving to be as gentle, patient, loving, compassionate, etc. etc. etc. as we can be as parents.
But sometimes we will goof. And when we do, it's important that our children see us own our mistakes, try again, and try to do better. That's a powerful principle, imo.
One of the hardest lessons I have had to learn as a parent is that no matter how hard I try, my children will experience my imperfections, even pain because of them. (Just as I have experienced pain because of my parents' imperfections.) I try to minimize that to be sure, but ultimately, part of the plan, imo, is to be raised by imperfect parents.
And I think it's freeing to accept that, and to forgive my parents for their mistakes, and to help my children by trying to model repentance and to ask them to forgive me along the way.
But that doesn't change the fact that I am working very, very hard to be the best mom I can for them, because I love them more than words can say.
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