I don’t typically post more than one book review in a week, much less three! But, this week I had the opportunity to be involved in a blog tour for a new book in honor of Mother’s Day.
The book is Help Wanted: Moms Raising Daughters by Darlene Brock. It is the first release from a new organization called The Grit and Grace Project. The organization’s goal is to impact the lives of women by helping them “reach their full potential and find purpose as Individuals, Wives, and Mothers.”
Help Wanted approaches motherhood as a series of job descriptions. Covering various aspects of education, identity, and management, each chapter begins with a job title and description, and then discusses in detail how such a job fits into the life of a mother. Author Darlene Brock uses a combination of her own experience and stories from the lives of others to drive home each of her points. She does not back away from difficult or touchy topics like gender roles and parental authority, and is decidedly confident and direct in her approach.
The stories shared are, in my opinion, the greatest strength of the book. Real-life examples are what girded up Darlene Brock when she discovered, to her dismay, that she was going to be a mother. So, real-life stories are what she uses to gird up other mothers. The stories she chose to share, whether from her own life and the lives of her family and acquaintances or from the lives of historical figures, are entertaining, inspiring, and at times downright hilarious. And they all successfully and powerfully drive home each of her points.
I do confess that I was a little discouraged by the chapter entitled “Academic Advocate.” In this chapter, Brock acknowledges very thoroughly the major issues with our nation’s approach to education, and I agree with her conclusions. But, despite the fact that she states that traditional education is not for everyone and we need to be open to our children’s strengths and weaknesses, there is no discussion of the importance of evaluating whether or not alternative forms of education might be appropriate for our children. Brock only approaches education from the perspective of moms being their daughters’ advocates in the traditional school setting. There are so many academic options for our children – even beyond the basic ideas of homeschooling versus public school. I think an exploration of some of these other options would have more adequately handled the concept of being academic advocates for our children.
One final note, more for clarification than for commendation or complaint: this book is not distinctly “Christian” in content. There is very little Scripture quoted – in fact, I can specifically recall only one Scripture passage, although I might be forgetting others. There is little reference to God, the church, and Christian faith. I did not find anything in contradiction to a Christian world view, but if you’re looking for Biblical advice, this is not the source. Even as someone who takes the Bible as my final authority for parenting, however, I don’t think this detracts from the book. I simply think it’s important for readers to know what to expect.
Bottom line: Help Wanted: Moms Raising Daughters is encouraging, challenging, and fun. It reminds us that this job we are called to is amazing, wonderful, and something we truly can accomplish. But, it is something that requires every ounce of our God-given skills. I think it is a very appropriate start for The Grit and Grace Project.
This book was sent to me by the {m} media collective in exchange for my honest review. A favorable review was not required.
Not Quite Ordinary 