MOMumental: Adventures in the Messy Art of Raising a Family - Softcover

Grant, Jennifer

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1617950742 ISBN 13: 9781617950742

Publisher: Worthy Books, 2012

Synopsis

Celebrating the joyous art of being a mother, MOMumental offers an inspiring, honest, and infectiously humorous look at the perils and pleasures of raising a family in the real world.
Once a devout believer in the myth of the perfect mother, author Jennifer Grant now has a more realistic yet still upbeat view of parenting and families. Instead of focusing on creating a conflict-free home, raising picture-perfect kids, and being an ideal mother, Grant offers a wiser and more down-to-earth way to love your children that makes room for mistakes and imperfections. She says, "I share stories about family life and how I've come to appreciate the mess of it. I am grateful for my own happy, idiosyncratic, and imperfect family." 
MOMumental is one mother's account of the unpredictable, creative, sometimes hilarious, and always rewarding process of raising a family. It's filled with funny and poignant stories from her everyday life--a life that mothers everywhere can identify with.
Endorsements:
" Wow. Jennifer Grant's MOMumental is amore than a parenting book. It is a love story reminding us that imperfection should be celebrated, not feared." -Kirk Martin, Founder of CelebrateCalm.com and CelebrateADHD.com
"MOMumental's wit and wisdom so enraptured me, I found myself taking notes. Moreover, it elicited such from-the-bottom-of-my-soul laughter that I caused a full-blown scene on the cross-country plane ride where I read it. Fasten your seat belts, folks; you're in for an unforgettable ride." -Cathleen Falsani, Journalist

About this title

Book Description

One mom’s humorous and candid memoir shows would-be supermoms how to create a realistically balanced family life without losing their minds.

A longtime former writer for the Chicago Sun-Times and now a columnist for the Chicago Tribune, Jennifer Grant is no stranger to the common reader. MOMumental is a foray into the enormously amusing, creative, and taxing process of raising a family and a starkly honest memoir that mothers everywhere can identify with. With narrative that is chock-full of humorous, poignant stories drawn from her everyday adventures as a mother and wife, Grant presents an entertaining and inspirational book that will give readers uncommon insights about being an intentional parent.

From the Author

I've written about articles about parenting and family life for as long as I've been a mother - just over sixteen years. Writing - especially writing books and longer form articles - helps me to work through issues that trouble me and to better understand an experience I've had. As I write, my thoughts and convictions are challenged, deepened, and clarified.

When I wrote my first book, Love You More: The Divine Surprise of Adopting My Daughter (2011) I grappled with both the ethics and losses associated with adoption and the miracle of adopting a child. When I was writing Love You More, I felt vulnerable and exposed. I revisited old journals. I spoke to adoption professionals. I received angry email from people who hadn't read my work, but are opposed to all adoptions. I examined issues that were painful to focus on, such as gendericide in India and the global orphan crisis.

After that book was done, however, I felt more sure-footed as an adoptive mother. I also was glad to have written what I consider to be a gift to my youngest child. That is, I can't tell her a first-hand account of her birth story, but I can give her this true story of her parents' love for her and detail the way she became our daughter.

In writing MOMumental: Adventures in the Messy Art of Raising a Family, I again waded into very personal material. I begin the book by looking at my own childhood desire someday to create a "perfect" family. The notion of family is particularly frightening and alluring to those of us who grew up in "broken homes." We wonder if we have what it takes to be a committed spouse and parent. We worry that somehow we are cursed by our parents' failed marriage or other problems. When I became a mother, I was intent on landing on the perfect way to raise my kids. Organic foods. Mozart on the stereo. Simple, time-tested playthings. No TV. Some of those things are still - sixteen years on - part of my family life, but imperfectly so. Some have fallen away.

I've had to decide, as all parents do, what are my priorities. And in our culture, that can be very difficult to do. Whenever we open a newspaper, hear a teaser for a news show, or scan headlines online, parents are met with conflicting messages about how to raise children.

Everything from the "family bed," to when to wean a baby, to discipline techniques is turned into fodder for making parents feel guilty. We are constantly told that we're failing our kids in multiple ways. But, in the end, all kids really need is what they have needed throughout history. Connected relationships - especially with their parents, a healthy lifestyle, and time to imagine and play. As a parent, I've become more real and relaxed. I no longer compare myself to other moms. I know I'm doing my best to be an intentional, connected parent.

So, MOMumental tells that story of my evolution as a mom. The book tells stories about the family culture I'm trying to create and maintain in my home and about the many missteps I've made. I'm happy that first readers of the book have said that MOMumental has affirmed them, has helped them relax a bit, and has inspired them to take a breath and truly enjoy their children.

I'd love to hear what you think.

• What are the best ways you've found to connect with your kids?
• How have you changed as a parent since you first became one?
• What messages about parenting do you hear on the news, or elsewhere, that most trouble or insult you? 
• What does being a parent mean to you?

Wishing you all best in your (messy) family adventures.

About this edition

• Publisher: Worthy Books
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 1617950742
• ISBN 13: 9781617950742
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 224