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Nov 26, 2008

Lucy rated it:

Written by a group of smart, articulate and thoughtful women who write for Segullah Magazine and Blog Segullah, The Mother In Me compiles essays and poems whose topics cover pregnancy, miscarriage, infertility, birth, the loss of a stillborn (I wept), parenting special needs children, and several on the challenges of being a mother to small children.

I think this book is best read in small doses - first, because each essay has its own feeling and message to experience and second, beca More...

1 comment like (4 people liked it)

Mar 05, 2009

Anna rated it:

I finished this about a month ago and wanted to write a whole long commentary about it. Here's the short version:

I found this book interesting because anyone finds interest in reading about other people in the exact same stage of life as them. I could relate to nearly all the tales. They pulled at all my vulnerable heartstrings. And that was its downfall as well. I realize this book was tailored for and written by a very narrow demographic (young Mormon writer mothers), but I rea More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 15, 2009

Maya rated it:

Short stories on motherhood...perfect for the busy mom or mom-to-be because each story is just a couple of pages (or less for the poems). Covers many aspects of motherhood, including adoption, infertility, and miscarriage. I just wish they included more from working mothers...I don't think any of the women worked after having children and working outside the home is an aspect of motherhood for many.

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Nov 12, 2011

Tawny rated it:

I enjoyed these stories, especially the ones I could relate to. But I can always do without the assumption that everyone has or will at some point experience pregnancy. Favorite lines:
"Motherhood, I now know, means continual rounds of beginning" (4).
"Did Eve pause in her purposefulness when she realized the known world of her peaceful garden was now nonexistent, that in choosing family, she chose to become part of the wildness of creation" (10)?
"Is this w More...

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Jul 22, 2010

Lesli rated it:

My out of town sister had me get this from the library for her, then I read it afterward. I thought the first two entries (counting the forward) were silly, long and boring, but after that I like most of them. I really liked the third stories (second story as far as numbering goes) about the woman who didn't expect to be a stay at home mom and didn't start out as one, and often felt bad that she didn't hold up to being as good as a prophet's mother. Yes I could relate to all that. I also appr More...

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Jun 13, 2009

Christina rated it:

I loved most of this book. The mothers all wrote from their own personal experiences and there was much that I could relate to. I did feel there was an almost-constant theme of "look at all the sacrifices I made" that almost overwhelmed the smaller, quieter message: "but it was worth it." Some of the essays were very "Me" centered on how hard it is to be a mom, how smart (or talented) they were and how much they had sacrificed for mothering. I would never give t More...

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Jul 07, 2009

Mary rated it:

http://themotherinme.com/

Motherhood is complex, yet simple. It is exhausting, yet rewarding. It is heartbreaking, yet joyful. It is life changing and fulfilling.

This collection of poems and essays will leave you full of the joys of mothering but understanding there are days of sorrow. Cry, laugh, nod in agreement, and be grateful you aren’t alone. These stories will bring that to the forefront.

Anyone who has been a mother, who has yet to become one More...

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Mar 22, 2011

Heidi rated it:

This book has been sitting on my dresser for several weeks. I was looking at the "clearance" books at Deseret Book and found it foe $2.99. I vaguely remembered reading about on some websites and thought it was worth picking up. I'm so glad I did. The other day I stuck it in the car figuring that since it was essays, it would be perfect to read when I am waiting to pick up at pre-school or piano lessons. I started reading it today while I was waiting at pre-school, read through bas More...

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Jul 07, 2009

Marcie rated it:

This book was full of essays on motherhood. The style of all the essays (I didn't completely finish so this review is based on the first half) are all very flowery and poetic -- like something you would see entered into an essay contest where all the winners were english majors. Every essay focused on becoming a first-time mom so really this book wasn't that thrilling to me. Don't get me wrong, motherhood is a beautiful thing but I'm not the type of person that seeks out writing on the joys and More...

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Nov 05, 2009

Mommywest rated it:

I have read this book several times; I cannot believe I haven't added it to my list before now! I LOVE this book of essays and poems on "growing into motherhood!" Written by moms who also write for the Segullah magazine/website, this book offers touching and humorous reflections on pregnancy, birth, miscarriage and stillbirth, infertility, raising little ones, watching them grow, and more. I feel like these ladies have given voice to feelings I cannot put into words, and I have also le More...

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Jun 02, 2009

Becca rated it:

So I can't decide if it was wise for me to read this so soon after giving birth myself. I thought the stories were just beautiful, though some were so sad they scared me. I made the mistake of bringing this to read in public once and ended up just crying in front of people! Guess I'm still a little emotional and hormonal.

The real treat was that the stories were so well-written, the voices strong and calm and easy to read and relate to. And I definitely picked up on some universal mot More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Oct 31, 2008

Jen rated it:

I loved some of these essays... there were ones that were 5 stars, but others I didn't connect with as much. I think that's the point with this book- there is something for everyone.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 19, 2009

Angie rated it:

One of my favorite people gave this book to me for mother's day not knowing that we had just had our baby. I didn't think I would have time to read it at first, but nursing is a great time to read. It is a collection of different mother's writing about their experiences of growing into motherhood whether with accounts of being pregnant, miscarrying, adopting, or just the craziness of finding yourself among the business of taking care of children. I loved the stories and was moved by the hones More...

4 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 05, 2009

Tarin rated it:

My mom gave me this book for Christmas, and I LOVED it. It's full of short stories and poems written by mother's. What I loved is that many of these stories touched on my exact feelings about motherhood, I'm just not as talented at putting my thoughts and feelings into words. It never came across as one of those books that made me feel like everyone else is a fabulous mom and I'm...not. It was uplifting.

I laughed, I cried, and I got an extra little boost each time I picked this b More...

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Jan 01, 2011

Stacey rated it:

A good collection of essays and poems regarding things that you could potentially face as a young mother. I was a little disappointed that they didn't have any reflections on parenting older children, but overall the book was good. I felt like they could have done without the poems, most of them were so strange that I didn't even begin to try to understand them and simply quickly read over them, thought to myself about how strange they are and then moved on to the next essay. There were many More...

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Nov 24, 2008

Clarice rated it:

I've always enjoyed reading the essays I found on http://segullah.org/blog/ but there's nothing like having a good book to curl up and read over and over again. I think this is a great book for EVERY mother to read, regardless of whether you are LDS or not. It gives you a little peek into the mind of an LDS woman, and helps explain why we do crazy things like have 5 children, lol! The stories will touch your heart. They did mine as I sat nodding with affirmation and understanding, or crying tea More...

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May 29, 2010

Cindy rated it:

Like any book of essays, this is hard to rate. I've been reading Segullah for years (and was published there myself last fall!) and so was excited to find that this book - published by the Segullah staff - was at my library. I wasn't disappointed, exactly, but I didn't think it measured up to the standards of a creative nonfiction essay collection... some of the essays were brilliant and beautifully written, but some of them sounded more like journal entries or blog posts. The poetry, on the oth More...

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May 27, 2010

Pam rated it:

I finished the book, but I wish I was still reading. Sigh. I loved it! It was perfect! I read it slowly so that I could really *take in* each essay or poem. I found myself thinking about most of them even days later. I want to be a better Mom. I want to sneak into my little boy's room right now and snuggle with him in bed and just take everything in - his smell, the sound of his steady breathing, his perfect face, his soft skin. But I also want to do the same while he's awake - just take More...

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May 12, 2009

Heather rated it:

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Nov 10, 2008

Inspired Kathy rated it:

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It is a compilation of essays and poems on motherhood. I could so relate to almost all of the essays! I'm not really a poetry fan but there were a couple good poems thrown in along with some that were a little bizarre.

Here is an excerpt from an essay I really enjoyed by Heather Harris Bergevin:
I still have my own questions about being enough. I'm still disabled. I'm still woefully lacking in housekeeping skills. I'm not very good at More...

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Oct 10, 2008

Shelah rated it:

A collection of essays and poems about the process of becoming a mother, and the change of identity that goes along with it.

Ok, first of all a disclaimer: The essays and poems in The Mother in Me were written by women associated with the literary magazine Segullah, and as the Assistant Features Editor, I already had lots of respect for the authors.

But I have lots more now. In the beginning the women of Segullah made me want to be a better writer. Then they made me want to More...

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Nov 30, 2009

Becca rated it:

I finished this book a couple of months back and have been selfishly holding onto it instead of returning to Joh. I initially resisted this book because (among other things) a) I am generally suspicious of LDS writing finding it usually too saccharine for my taste and b) I am deeply insecure about my mothering abilities.

Once I picked it up I read it quickly and was enriched by the experience (there, is that too saccharine for you?). Rather than glossing over motherhood in all its d More...

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May 26, 2011

Amelia rated it:

This is an absolutely beautiful, touching book. It is an anthology of 43 stories and poems by 29 authors who each belong to the editorial staff of Segullah: Writings by Latter-Day Saint Women. You'd think that because they all work together, they may all have a too-similar flavor in their writing, but not at all. I didn't love every piece of writing, but there were several that really appealed to me. Some of them really made me laugh. Several made me tear up with genuine emotion. One even made m More...

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Feb 14, 2009

Marilee rated it:

This was a refreshing read about the very hard things in motherhood. It did a good job telling it like it is, but that includes the joys. I loved that it had essays about adoption, miscarriage, still-borns, childlessness, illness, and hard stuff. But it also did a great job of explaining why we love motherhood. This was definitely a feel good book-- and a life-validating one. Very well-written! I highly recommend it.

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Jan 30, 2009

Jeanna rated it:

I liked the way this book helped me think of what my own essay on motherhood is. The definition of my mothering role and the storyline I thought my own life would take was turned about last year when our fertility doctor gave us .1% chance of having another child on our own. This book has stories from every different angle of motherhood and stories from the good and bad, fertile and infertile, adpoted.. This book has inspired me to actually put my thoughts and my story on paper.

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Mar 04, 2009

Jessica rated it:

Pleasantly surprised by the quality of writing in this book, both poetry and prose. It is a little bit strange to read a book of my contemporaries. These writer/mothers are out there mothering at just about the same rate I am. They did not write these essays thirty years ago for me to find today. I can place my own attempts at rearing children within theirs. I feel in good company.

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Jan 06, 2009

Raven rated it:

I really loved this book and would highly recommend it to anyone who is, who ever has been, or who ever will be a mother. The essays come from so many different women in all types of different circumstances. It's fantastic. And it's real. No sugar-coating here. It really reminded me that my children are true gifts that I cherish and it did so in an honest and approachable way.

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Feb 26, 2009

Chrystal rated it:

Heart-wrenching, Heart-warming, Heart-soothing - this book pulls the heartstrings of every woman, mother, and daughter. I enjoyed the stories, images, poetry and insight by these LDS women and authors. I feel like as I read this book I was connected to all mothers everywhere, and that we all understand the realities,hopes, fears, and feelings that are motherhood.

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Feb 23, 2009

Marci rated it:

I loved reading the different experiences that various women have had with motherhood. It was especially nice to know that I am not alone in many of the feelings I have as well as having it reconfirmed that each person has an individual experience with raising children and that your life does not have to "feel" the same as another persons. Hurray for moms!

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Jun 02, 2011

Michelle rated it:

This is one of the most satisying, beautiful books I have ever read. All of the writing is excellent. As I regretfully end the phase in my life encompassed by this book, I am grateful to feel as though it is somehow preserved through these writings. Each essay resonated so deeply with me and brought back such poignant, detailed memories of the painful, joyful experiences I have had since finding out I was expecting my first baby. I know that whenever I am missing those breathtakingly sweet yet d More...

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