Cover via Amazon

Mommy Grace: Erasing Your Mommy Guilt

By Sheila Schuller Coleman, 2009

You should know

I don't have kids, I don't plan on having kids any time soon, and yet, given my personality, I already have plenty of preemptive Mommy Guilt, thank you.

This is another book from LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program.

So?

This book is written with a very strong Christian perspective, which is a great thing for some readers and a deal-breaker for others. So I want to get that out of the way from the beginning.

Now, here is where I have a small problem with it.

I know the message is, "When you are overwhlemd and feeling guilty, turn your anxiety over to God and know that you are doing your best and the Lord will provide." Which is a very nice message.

But the danger of it is the potential for the reader to draw this corrollary: "If you remain overwhelmed and feeling guilty, you must be a bad Christian." Which, of course, will almost certainly increase anxiety and guilt in anyone interested in being a Good Christian (whatever that means to the person in question... I'm not about to debate theology here).

Now, that aside, the book has some cute anecdotes along the lines of, "I'm not perfect, but my kids turned out well," which is nice and encouraging, and each chapter ends with Bible verses, prayers, and meditations, which is nice if you're into that, but since I don't have kids I kind of just skimmed them.

Rating

Great for the right audience
The brief write-up above should already give you a sense of whether you are that audience. I may find this book to be very useful in several years, but for now, I may just pass it on to a friend (who is probably reading this... if so, let me know if you want it. You know who you are).

The rest of the Internet

The author's father, Robert Schuller of Crystal Cathedral, talks about the book.
The book's LibraryThing page.
Carine Nadel at The Orange County Register speaks highly of the book and quotes the author at length.
Angie at Ministry and a Mission highly recommends the book.
Bearer of the Blob at Slimequeen was pleasantly surprised by the book.
Michelle Lynn at Michelle Lynne's Life Thoughts puts the lessons of the book to use in her own life.

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