Click for Reviews of...
As an Amazon Affiliate, I get a percentage of every book you buy from a link on my site
My most recent impulse buy was Tough Mothers by Jason Porath. It's an illustrated coffee-table book with fifty vignettes about mothers who did incredible things: women like Sacajawea, Sojourner Truth, Irena Sendler, and many others I had never even heard of.
The book spoke to me not just because it looked awesome, but also because of where I am in my life. I'm a stay-at-home mom who doesn't bring any income to our family. Western society is still in transition about gender roles, and I often feel like I'm standing in the eye of a hurricane. There's shame attached to being "just a mom," like me. I've heard women without kids say they aren't "breeding machines," and women who don't nurse say they aren't "cows." You can imagine how that makes me feel. There's also shame attached to being a preoccupied mom. If you have a job, a business, a hobby, or anything that takes up your time, people look at you with suspicion. They wonder if your children are being neglected while you pursue your selfish interests. It's like you have to be maternal, just not too maternal, but shame on you for not being too maternal. And if you make a mistake as a mother, like if you accidentally leave your kid at the grocery store, expect the internet to publically crucify you. I feel like no one cares about mothers, but that we're still expected to do our jobs perfectly. It's enough to make you ask if your life has any point. When I saw this book on the shelf, my first thought was, "I can be a mom and make a difference at the same time!" We all know this, I think, but it helps to be reminded. I loved reading examples of real-life women fighting wars, marching in protests, and making inventions. My complaints about this book are somewhat miniscule. For instance, not all the women in this book had kids. I'm totally cool with the women who adopted children, obviously. But the book also had a nun, a transgender woman, and others without kids, and I just thought, "Really? Isn't this supposed to be about moms?" He calls those women things like "The Mother of Mexican Literature," but that wasn't good enough for me. It sends a message that there aren't enough tough mothers in the world to fill a whole book. Ouch. All in all, though, this book is powerful, inspirational, and fun. It's a good gift for any history-loving mother who needs a pick-me-up.
0 Comments
Fifty years after her death, the much-guarded journal of the adored painter Frida Kahlo has been released. Half illustration, half text, the book offers an intimate look into a brilliant yet troubled mind.
Then I’d read the story behind each painting and become stunned by its genius.
For instance, there’s a painting of her lying in bed with a large cone sticking out of her mouth, and inside the cone is vile-looking meat. It’s disturbing, to be honest with you. Come to find out, when her health was failing and her appetite non-existent, her doctor force-fed her pureed fatty meat through a cone. The title of the painting is “Without Hope.” Wow. As soon as I understood the painting, I felt like I also fully understood how she felt as that disgusting food was shoved down her throat. It’s stunning. But like I was saying, there was a specific moment when I did a 180 and decided to love her. It was shortly before her death when a gallery hosted her last art showing. No one thought she’d be able to make it, but she got an ambulance to take her to the gallery where a bed was set up for her. Amazing! She never gave up. The journal is fascinating because I don’t think it was meant for anyone to see, and therefore doesn’t make coherent sense. For me, that makes it fun. It’s a puzzle to figure out. For instance, some people argue that her diary indicates that she committed suicide; I believe it proves that she did not. Also, she wrote a bunch of love letters, and then later in a different colored ink wrote in “Diego” at the top (her husband’s name). Why add it in later? Were the love letters really about him? It’s also a beautiful journal. While all her paintings are done in a style specific to her, her journal is more liberating, and it contains works of art unlike anything you’ve seen her do before. I’d recommend this book to anyone who loves Frida, or who loves art, or who is fascinated by living with disabilities, or who is human. Similar Items You Might Enjoy
After a painful divorce, Elizabeth Gilbert went on a year-long journey of healing and self-discovery in Italy, India, and Bali.
Her genius – and it truly is genius – is how she can express her thoughts while at the same time allowing you to have your own and that be okay. The point isn't to prove herself right; the point is to get us thinking. Somehow even if we don't come to the same conclusions as her, we agree with the path she takes to find them, and we're grateful that she took us on the journey.
And by the way, I have never wanted to learn to meditate more than I did after reading this book. Someday, I want to disappear into a Buddhist retreat for months just like she did. And really, if a writer can make something as boring as another person meditating so exciting… that’s dang good writing. Did you read Eat, Pray, Love? What did you think of it? Books You Might Enjoy
This is a memoir about Corrie Ten Boom, whose family hid Jews in their house to keep them out of concentration camps. Sounds like an ordinary WWII book? It’s not.
By the time I finished reading her book of selflessness and bottomless love, I felt compelled to give away everything I own. I didn’t, but the compulsion was definitely there. Instead, I give away copies of her book whenever I get the chance; I need to just buy ten of them now so I can have a ready stock on my bookshelf.
The book is a Christian book, which I liked because she uses Jesus as a model of how to emulate Christ-like behavior. Without his influence in her life, she would not have been the same person and this would not have been the same book. However, her experiences are so universal that this book would appeal to anyone. Have you read The Hiding Place? What did you think? Similar Books You Might Enjoy |
My Book is Out!Click on the cover to learn more.
Archives |