The critically acclaimed author of "Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters," puts her 25 years' experience as a practicing pediatrician and counselor into a sound, sane approach to reshaping the frustrating, exhausting lives of so many moms.
The Ten Habits of Happy Mothers
Reclaiming Our Passion, Purpose and Sanity
Over the past 25 years, I have witnessed and alarming trend in the emotional health of mothers across America. We are more stressed, more anxious than in any time in history. Studies show that even while mothers have more opportunities to do and be whatever we want, something is terribly wrong. Antidepressant and anxiolytic (sedatives) use in mothers has skyrocketed over the past ten years. As a pediatrician, I have come to realize that the best way I can care for my patients is to make sure that their parents are emotionally, physically and spiritually healthy. Sound parents raise sound kids.
I decided to drill down and uncover the roots of the stresses mothers were experiencing. I interviewed hundreds of mothers and found, what I believe to be the source of much of our angst. We believe that we should be perfect mothers, raise perfect children, perform perfectly at our jobs and be perfect wives. Of course, we don’t appear to be succeeding, nonetheless, every mother feels that she needs to improve in one or all areas of her life. In short, she never lets herself “off the hook.”
The answer to the stresses mothers are experiencing, lies in taking a hard look at why we do what we do. Then, it means paying serious attention to the fundamentals of our happiness. These fundamentals, I call “habits” because that’s what we must form them to be, if we are to get rid of our angst and live richer lives. Many seem overly simple and obvious, but my contention is that the simple habits are the hardest to adopt.
The book is patterned after Richard Foster’s excellent book, Celebration of Discipline. In similar fashion, I outline the ten keys to a mother’s happiness: faith, solitude, simplicity, understanding her true value as a mother, improving friendships, loving better, getting a healthy perspective on money, confronting fear, living with hope and avoid competing with other mothers. This is not a book about how to be a better mother, but it is the first of its kind to free mothers to be the women they were created to be.
- Meg Meeker
Arguing that many moms have gone overboard in their quest for perfection, the Michigan-based pediatrician and mother of four presents 10 "new habits" that will help moms maintain their passion, purpose, and sanity. In separate chapters, Meeker addresses understanding your value as a mother, maintaining key friendships, valuing and practicing faith, saying no to competition, creating a healthier relationship with money, making time for solitude, giving and getting love in healthy ways, finding ways to live simply, letting go of fear, and embracing hope. Meeker urges mothers to dig deep to find their life's purpose, rejecting cute but superficial one-liners such as "I'm here to drive my kids around." Though she claims to be "a scientist at heart," Meeker, a Christian, waxes philosophical on many issues, including the importance of faith and spirituality. She also urges moms to seek solitude and live more simply while rejecting such "toxic" cultural messages as being thinner, looking hot, and making more money. Readers in search of tips on how to help their kids excel won't find them here; this is a sincere and thoughtful discussion of what really matters in a mother's life. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved. Publisher's Weekly
Hardcover: 240 pages
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Language: English
ISBN-10:0345518063
ISBN-13:978-0345518064
Downloaded product like ebooks, audio books, etc. will be delivered to you immediately after you complete your order. For more information on delivery for electronic products, click here.
All other product, unless otherwise noted, will be processed and ready to ship within 2 business days (often even faster). The total delivery time depends on the service you chose and where your order is being delivered. You may see multiple shipping options to choose from during checkout. Our default choice will always be the most economical, but not necessarily the fastest.
(Delivery times include 2 additional business days for order processing)
(12)
(5)
