Reviews
Our Amazon Reviews
from Annette Lyon on the blog The Lyon’s Tale
I love how not one of the writers whitewashes motherhood as some perfect fantasy life. It’s real. You see the love, the patience, and the boundless joy mixed right in with the fatigue, the frustration, and the impatience. You read of times where a mother is a brain cell away from losing her mind completely . . . and the moments that make every last sleepless night worth it. In short, the mundane and the divine interlock in a beautiful way. [more]
from annegb on the blog Mormon Mentality
As I read each woman’s story of mothering, I felt a little envious. I so wish I’d had this resource when I was raising my kids. I, like so many others, compared myself, beat myself up, and often gave up in despair of ever getting it right. I tried so hard and worked so hard and measured myself by the result and not the effort. [more]
from the blog Life is a Spasm Who Flow
Every essay chronicles the development of a God-like trait: patience, hope, faith, forgiveness, compassion, and pure, pure love. After reading, I’d want to hug my children, read them a story, take them somewhere to teach them something, play hide and seek, cook together. It made every experience that every mother knows is difficult and frustrating to be looked upon as a cherished opportunity. I really enjoyed it. [more]
from the blog The Well-Rounded Woman
I received a copy of The Mother in Me, by Kathryn Lynard Soper, for my birthday last month and have been lapping up every measure of goodness ever since then. This collection of 43 essays and poems is the most well-written compilation I have ever read. It is obvious that these women, already contributing to the carefully culled Segullah, are accomplished writers. Add to that a subject matter that will hit home with all women and you have a book that will last through multiple readings and keep you coming back for more over the years. [more]
This is a tender collection of essays about motherhood and all its challenges and joys written from the perspective of 29 women who are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. While their faith is similar, each of their stories is unique.
There’s one, written by a mother of four, about being prompted to adopt. Another mother writes about losing a baby at nearly full-term. Other stories are about the stresses of motherhood but also about the joy of sweet moments. [Link to full review]
from the blog The Golden Road to Samaqand
This little book covers a huge range of experiences. It’s by women who are there, right now, with little children. They don’t blame, they don’t give advice. It’s simply a celebration of motherhood and the women who make it possible, despite everything that might make it seem impossible. [more]
from the blog Eyrelife
It’s a beautiful collection of stories of women who write of becoming and are young mothers; how they experience joy, fear, frustration, excitement, and gratitude all while learning the ways of motherhood. So far, I have laughed, I have sympathized, and I have sobbed. [more]
from the blog The Musings of Mynamyn
How many times over the last few years have I thought to myself “Man, I can’t wait for the toddler years to be over! I can’t wait for Shay to start school. I loved school, and I’m sure he will, too. Will these monotonous days ever end?”
Tonight I read an essay in The Mother In Me book that made me rethink all that. [more]
from the blog A Day in the Life
How often do I find myself stressed out or frustrated with the incessant noise in our home? I cry because I’m not a good enough entertainer or disciplinarian to my children. I feel overwhelmed by all of the things I don’t get done because I am trying to spend time with my children, or feel upset because I only feel like a “MOM” and not a person. While I don’t long for the sadness and loneliness that I felt through the years of infertility, I do wish I could have some of those feelings from time to time to remind me how blessed I currently am.
Today I read an essay from a great book called The Mother in Me about just this thing. [more]
Praise for The Mother In Me
Jane Clayson Johnson, Emmy-winning journalist and author:
The Mother in Me offers a tender glimpse into the lives of mothers and children–from the first moments of pregnancy to a child’s first steps at school. It is an honest and beautiful celebration of motherhood.
Merrilee Boyack, author and community activist:
I felt the joy, the heartache, the thrills and pains of young motherhood once again. This book is a treasury of emotion and experience. I give it five tissues and a box of chocolates!
Margaret Blair Young, novelist and filmmaker:
I love this collection of poetry and essays—not just because it’s well-written, tender, and honest, but because each work is FAMILIAR. I could see myself over and over as I read. How refreshing to actually feel at home in a book about motherhood!
The attention paid to stillbirth, handicap, infertility, and adoption makes this a remarkably complete look at the faces of motherhood we don’t always notice, but which beg to be seen. The reminders to “keep watch” as our children move quickly through their years are poignant. I think every mother will spend an extra few minutes with their babies after reading these words.
Like a child tugging at its mother’s skirt, these essays and poems offer voices which insist on being heard—not through loud noises or mischievous, meandering devices, but through the speakers’ power to remind us of our own childhoods, our own varied motherhoods, our own marriages, our own hopes, our own sorrows. Some are letters; some read like journal entries; some play with metaphors; some simply “talk story.” All paint personal yet deeply familiar pictures of motherhood.
I came away from this collection feeling validated and inspired. This is a book which those of us who approach Mother’s Day with anxiety can actually read, and cry in recognition rather than regret. What a gift! For that, I thank Kathryn Lynard Soper and her wonderful group of writers.
