MEE Speaks

by Mary Ellen Edmunds

Popular author and speaker Mary Ellen Edmunds is affectionately known to thousands of people by her initials, MEE. This sequel to her bestselling book MEE Thinks shares more of her whimsical thoughts about a host of topics such as noisy neighbors, unexpected gifts, early retirement, and putting first things first. This thoughtful, creative, poignant, funny book will lift your spirits and encourage you to think more deeply than ever before about the things that really matter in life (as well as some that don't matter so much)!

Genres: Lds, Religion, Inspirational, Nonfiction, Biography, Self Help

192 pages, Paperback

First published March 28, 2008

About the author

Mary Ellen Edmunds has served as director of training at the Missionary Training Center and as a member of the Relief Society general board. She graduated from the College of Nursing at Brigham Young University, has been a faculty member at BYU, and has served several full-time missions. A popular speaker, she is also the author of Happiness: Finders, Keepers; Love Is a Verb; and Thoughts for a Bad Hair Day.

Reviews

[Afton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mary Ellen Edmunds was one of my teachers at the MTC. I adore her. I love her sense of humor and happy outlook on life. This book made me laugh and cry. So many good thoughts to share. I will settle for sharing my top 10 favorite quotes:

1. Brigham Young - "Every trial and experience you have passed through is necessary for your salvation. The people of the Most High God must be tried."

2. Spencer Kimball - "Prayers are not always answered as we wish them to be. Even the Redeemer's prayer in Gethsemane was answered in the negative."

3. Spencer Kimball - "The more we serve our fellowmen in appropriate ways, the more substance there is to our souls. We become more significant individuals...Indeed, it is easier to 'find' ourselves because there is so much more of us to find!"

4. Robert Hales - "Do you know how to recognize a true friend? A real friend loves us and protects us...A true friend makes it easier for us to live the gospel."

5. Neal Maxwell - "At the center of our agency is the freedom to form a healthy attitude toward whatever circumstances we are placed in! Ultimate hope and daily grumpiness are not reconcilable. It is ungraceful, unjustified, and unbecoming of us as committed Church members to be constantly grumpy or of woeful countenance."

6. Ezra Benson - "The proud wish God would agree with them. They aren't interested in changing their opinions to agree with God's. God will have a humble people. Either we can choose to be humble or we can be compelled to be humble."

7. Joseph Wirthlin - "Pride and vanity, the opposites of humility, can destroy our spiritual health as surely as a debilitating disease can destroy our physical health."

8. Heber Kimball - "I am perfectly satisfied that my Father and my God is a cheerful, pleasant, lively, and good-natured Being. Why? Because I am cheerful, pleasant, lively, and good-natured when I have his Spirit."

9. James Faust - "Don't forget to laugh at the silly things that happen. Humor is a powerful force for good when used with discretion. Its physical expression, laughter, is highly therapeutic."

10. Marjorie Hinckley - "The only way to get through life is to laugh your way through it. You either have to laugh or cry. I prefer to laugh. Crying gives me a headache."

This is the last book I got from Time Out for Women. This book has brought me so much comfort with some of the struggles that our family has been praying about lately. Life is good and I'm thankful for the happy heart that God gave me!

[Lu · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoy her sense of humor and great stories.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this book years ago at a Time Out for Women event that Mary Ellen Edmunds spoke at. I have been trying to go through my bookshelf and reads books I have yet to read from them so I can then minimize them. This book was chosen for me to do this with. I liked the collection of talks. Some really spoke to me and I loved, others were just okay. I also served a mission in Asia (Taiwan) so I liked hearing of her experiences from missions in areas similar to where I served as well. I enjoyed this book and am glad I finally got around to reading it.

[Kim Dennis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mary Ellen Edmunds is one of my favorites -- right up there with Sheri Dew, Chieko Okazaki and Mike Wilcox. She is able to present good principles with humor, but still teach.

[Jeannie Glanville · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always have loved Mary Ellen Edmunds! She is a terrific speaker, and her written work isn't half bad either! The humor she is famous for comes across in the reading, and I can just see her little smirks and hear her intonations as if she were speaking to me. Some very comforting life stories are in this little tome. I have passed several of the stories around to some of my friends whose religious views are different from mine, and they have loved them as well! I love her idea of Enduring to the End....we are told to endure to the end....not endure for a while, or endure half way. I can just picture a marathon runner quitting after 25.5 miles because they happened upon a Ben and Jerrys. I also love the idea of Lance Armstrong getting off his bike during the tour de France, taking a huge drink of water, and laying down and saying I quit! I think Enduring to the End was my favorite of her thoughts. Memories of her missions are also very touching and enjoyable, and I would love to read more of those.

[Melissa T · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Mary Ellen. She has a great sense of humor, and speaks and writes from her heart. She is both tender and tough, funny and sad, strong and yet vulnerable. I would read (or listen) to anything by her. This particular book is a collection of her favorite talks, so it is great for a quick read when you don't have time to become involved in a longer title. But I did miss the emotional and mental boost I usually get from a more involved book.

[Danny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I admire MEE as someone who is an effective moral advocate because of the way she lives her life. She is an inspiration. I remembered hearing her speak many years ago and was changed by her example.
We had her come to Las Vegas to speak and she was wonderful. (She even laughed at something I said, not intentionally humorous, which was delightful.) This book is a gem. Her story of the recovery of her lost scriptures is memorable. She is an elect lady and a great person.

[Anji · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love, love, love mary ellen edwards. (but you all already know this) she is so funny. i especially liked her chapter on porches. I agree "I think we would all be better off if there were more porches, and if we used them. Porches just bring people together." I want to be a "world-class porch sitter"!

[Mommywest · Rating 5 out of 5]

WONDERFUL book full of essays on all kinds of topics. One of my favorites is "be a bucket filler, not a dipper." I love Mary Ellen Edmunds perspective and writing style. She is funny and sensitive all at the same time, and really makes you think harder about loving people and being grateful. I SO recommend this book to anyone!

[Whit · Rating 5 out of 5]

As always, MEE has a way of engaging me with her writing. She has depth, humor, wisdom and wit. She has such a way of playing with words and although this book has a little less humor, it is packed with substance.

[Dana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a huge MEE (Mary Ellen Edmunds) fan! If you have ever heard her speak, you know what I mean. She is absolutely delightful. I loved this book, and its analogies to our spiritual selves. It's a great read.

[Lola · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Mary Ellen Edmunds books. I don't think that I have ever read one that I didn't like. She was at the MTC when I was there. I loved her discription of walking through the hotel lobby wearing her slip and no skit.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book of talks by Mary Ellen Edmunds, but found myself slightly disappointed. I recently heard her speak, and she's fantastic in person. Part of her humor is her and reading her just isn't the same as listening to her.

[Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Mary Ellen Edmunds and her great attitude of optimism and the way she makes me feel and think about my own life. I have listened to her talks and read many of her books. Each one, like this one, gives me much to think about and to work on improving my life with her counsel.

[Rachael · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! I love MEE's voice and writing style. She breaks things down and her experiences help me to look at things in a different way. She's funny, she's intelligent, she's full of faith. This is a great book!

[Ada · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy reading things by Mary Ellen Edmunds. This one was an exceptionally easy, quick read. It's an encouraging group of talks on several different subjects. She has great stories to illustrate her points.

[Cozette R · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very inspirational book by Mary Ellen Edmunds. She talks about many of her life experiences that gives you a different perspective on things. She is an amazing women. I loved reading her stories from her different missions.

[Melinda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a collection of excerpts from the various talks MARY Ellen Edmunds has given over the years. I like her sense of humor. Some were better than others. Chapters "Flight to Rexburg", "Laugh with MEE" and "Endure to the End" are my favorites.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful book full of great snippets and thoughts. Though each section was just a bit of a previous talk or article, they were full of great pondering thoughts and gospel principles. I definitely enjoy reading Mary Ellen Edmunds.

[Anna Cook · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is inspirational. Although it is written by an LDS--Mormon--member, MEE helps you to understand parts of life and she shares how we can get through the hard times. She is an inspiring woman.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love everything Mary Ellen Edmunds writes! Her humor, faith and heartwarming stories are so uplifting. I always feel I can do better and enjoy life a little more after reading her books!

[Rachel Robins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great collection of a few of Mary Ellen Edmunds talks. Perfect book for a Sunday afternoon. Uplifting and inspriational and funny, she's a very talented writer/speaker with a heart of gold.

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. She is so funny but hits things right on. It is a nice up-lifting read.

[Vanessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you've ever heard her speak, you know she's great! I'm enjoying her thoughts quite a bit, she's a very positive, funny, clever writer. I'll let you know if the entire book is good really soon.

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is my inspiration and I love Mary Ellen.

[Marita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun little book of many topics. Uplifting and spiritual at the same time.

[Alisa Hardman · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick read, but a book that gives you things to think about long after you've finished reading. I thought it was sweet and funny, good-for-you medicine that is easy to swallow.

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mary Ellen Edmunds is always a delight to read. She makes you laugh and lifts you up at the same time. Each chapter is a talk she has given somewhere. It's a fast read.

[Deirdre · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, light-hearted, faith promoting ruminations.

[Darla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charming and inspiring with a good dose of quirky humor.