Product Description

This guide shows how, even in the midst of a busy, stressed-filled world, mothers can pare down their schedules and tune into a gentler rhythm. Through stories and experiences taken from her own life, the author offers simple suggestions for silence and contemplation, wonder and spiritual renewal.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1146078 in Books
• Published on: 2001-02-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 240 pages

About the Author
Katrina Kenison is a writer and journalist. She is a contributing editor to O, the Oprah Winfrey magazine. She has been the annual editor of The Best American Short Stories since 1990, and along with John Updike she edited The Best American Short Stories of the Century, a New York Times bestseller. She lives outside of Boston wiht her husband and their two sons.

Customer Reviews

an excellent book
This book is excellent for sorting out how to enjoy your children and life a little more. Its layout is extremely readable and her anecdotal stories really set a nice tone for the whole book. Throughout the book she gives you small examples of ways to enrich your time with your children and doesnt preach about how it should be done. An excellent read and one which I will read over and over again - when things are a little bit stressful.

a little pretentious but with some good messages
I struggled in places with this book and whether or not to give it 2 or 3 stars. When reading, I felt like it was a case of someone who has no idea about the struggles some families face such as special needs children or financial woes, yet they feel they can dispense words of wisdom without ever having walked in someone else's shoes. Let's face it, the author quite clearly seems to have a pretty cushy home life and I can't help but feel annoyed when these people get on their high horse.

One thing I found particularly offensive, as a mother of a special needs child with attention deficit disorder, is the following statement in the "Quiet" chapter: "...They are as overstimulated as their stressed-out parents. Little wonder, then, that attention disorders are on the rise or that our children seem so easily distracted". Excuse me, but my son does not have ADD as a result of all the author claims. I really bristle at this one, especially seeing as we took a calm and quiet parenting approach from the day he was born, to keep unecessary stimulation to a minimum! Also, Americans are very trigger happy when it comes to 'diagnosing' ADD/ADHD in children, something which has been extensively criticised by clinicians in other countries.

I found myself thinking "gee, do you REALLY think it is this easy for everyone?" when reading this book. However, I do give the author points for being honest (in very few places) about her own shortcomings. The "Discipline" chapter is a good example.

I ended up giving this review 3 stars because I do feel the author is well intentioned, albeit a little ignorant about the struggles of so many families who don't have it as well as she does. Also, the final chapter ("Wingbeats") is beautifully written and touched a nerve for me because despite the preachy tone of the book, she's just a mother like me, after all, and her sentiments in "Wingbeats" are exactly what I feel.

Don't let the Christian title turn you off. I don't share those beliefs and I was pleasantly surprised that this book wasn't an in-your-face God this God that sermon.

There are some good reflections in this book, definitely. And some that people can do regardless of their situation.