Recently Read: "The Mommy Diaries"

The Mommy Diaries: Finding Yourself in the Daily Adventure by Tally Flint
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This was passed on to me by my sister-in-law. I don't usually read this kind of self-help/improvement book. I'm wary of books that mention God on every page for seemingly no reason. I decided to read it anyway, as I've been working through some difficult situations and thought the book might trigger some introspection on my part. I'm not a member of MOPS nor plan to be, and expected the book to be geared towards the Fundamentalist mentality. I was not wrong.

The first chapter was a bit preachy and sappy, but I found one essay interesting. Also, each chapter ends with reflection questions that could be thought provoking to answer. I took a little something from each story in chapter 2, except the last one. It was one of those typical "I was mad at God. Now I'm not, and I literally spend all my free time away from the kids in prayerful devotion." stories. I got nothing out of it, but I liked the other stories in the chapter, particularly "A Defining Moment." Chapter 3 dealt with cultivating relationships and their importance in our lives. All the stories were interesting. Chapter 4 was on the importance of asking for and accepting help, and could've been combined with the previous chapter on relationships. I really liked the story "Peanut Butter Love." "Dusty Trusty Guidebook" was trite and tired, and promoted the idea of plucking Bible verses out of their context and applying them to modern life. I don't agree with this practice and consider it possibly dangerous, though the Bible can be a source of guidance if used correctly. Chapter 5 on gaining perspective was disappointing. All the stories were preachy, and none of them were terribly interesting. A few were actually condescending as they informed the reader of the great insight they were given in their "a ha" moments. Chapter 6 was on hope and, as expected, focused primarily on finding it in God and/or MOPS. A few of the stories were interesting and somewhat engaging, but two stories, "Lost and Found" and "My Best Years," in particular, left a bad taste in my mouth. These two stories seemed to promote the notion of giving up everything to be a full time mother, because nothing is more important. A list of priorities in "My Best Years" didn't even list the pursuit of personal interests. This is completely counter to the idea expressed in the book's subtitle, "Finding Yourself," and stressed in the first two chapters on "Identity" and "Growth."

Since I didn't expect much from this book, I was not overly disappointed. Some of the stories were engaging and interesting, but none revealed anything earth shattering that would change my life for the better. It's nice to read that other mothers have similar problems to mine own, and the questions at the end of each chapter were somewhat fun to answer and did in fact prompt some self-reflection. However, I would have gotten the same insight into myself by skipping the text and just answering the questions. This is not a book I would recommend to others, and I probably would have passed it up if I saw it at the Dollar Tree. Because I enjoyed answering the questions though, I gave this book an extra star.

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