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Don't Mom Alone

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Being a good mom isn't about doing everything right to create a set of perfect trophy children--though every mom has felt the pressure to do just that and to do it all on her own. To ask for help feels like defeat. Yet when we try to do it all by our own strength, we end up depleted, lonely, and ineffective.

Heather MacFadyen wants you to know that you are not meant to go it alone. Sharing her most vulnerable, hard mom moments, she shows how moms can be empowered by God, supported by others, and connected with their children. With encouragement and insight, she helps you foster the key relationships you need to be the mom you want to be.

Whether you work or stay home, whether you have teenagers or babes in arms, you'll find here a compassionate friend who wants the best--not just for your kids but for you .

208 pages, Paperback

Published October 12, 2021

82 people are currently reading
1599 people want to read

About the author

Heather MacFadyen

3 books108 followers
Heather MacFadyen wrote online before Facebook existed. After years of blog entries, in 2013 she launched a trailblazing podcast called God Centered Mom. In 2018, the show rebranded to the Don’t Mom Alone podcast. With over fourteen million downloads, Heather’s weekly interviews have been listened to at least once in every country on the planet. When she’s not recording conversations in her messy closet, she’s driving in Dallas traffic, feeding four growing boy-men, or walking around the “hood” with her entrepreneurial husband, Bruce.

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5 stars
227 (52%)
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144 (33%)
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52 (12%)
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7 (1%)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 77 reviews
Profile Image for Susy C. *MotherLambReads*.
555 reviews80 followers
June 10, 2023
I went through a season where I listened to Heather’s Podcast religiously. Then I stopped for a bit. Then I would go back whenever I felt like I needed a good parenting punch in the arm. I was excited when I heard she was writing a book.

I love her transparency and vulnerability and her love for Jesus. Now in my seasons of 2 teens and 1 tween, I am finding myself going back to her podcast. Her book was delightful and jam packed with so many truths. She hit all the seasons and of childhood and motherhood. We are not an island!

She reads her audio which is a plus. She references Sally Clarkson, Anne Voskamp, Courtney DeFeo, and others which are like my “mentors” as well.
Profile Image for Christy.
787 reviews11 followers
October 19, 2021
I was so excited to finally get my ARC and then hard copy of Don't Mom Alone by Heather MacFadyen. I have listened to the Don't Mom Alone Podcast since it began and have enjoyed over 300 episodes of interviews with amazing experts in their field that help me to be a better mom, wife, friend and person.

I really enjoyed the book where Heather takes the wisdom from those 300+ interviews and her time as a mom of 4 boys. Each chapter begins with a story from Heather's parenting which has me laughing and identifying with the situation in some way. We have all been there with our kids. There is an isolating idea of how we often isolate ourselves as a mom when we try to do things on our own. Then it is followed by a connecting truth, a better way to parent through the help not just of other moms, but more importantly with God's help.

One thing that I love about this book is that it really can be informative and encouraging to moms in any stage. Often books focus on a specific stage or babies, toddlers, teens, or a specific issue like sleeping, anxiety, discipline. But Don't Mom Alone focuses on you as the mom and how to build community so that no matter what the age or the issue, you are able to be the mom you want to be.

As a bonus, I have gone to church with Heather and our kids are at the same school so many of these stories and places are familiar. Knowing Heather, I know her heart and sincerity as she has written this book.
Profile Image for Lu.
13 reviews
June 20, 2024
I wish I would have had this book when my kids were younger. I really loved Heather's "Say it to her face" challenge described in chapter 6. This was an encouraging read with practical suggestions for moms in the trenches with young children.
Profile Image for Lauren.
135 reviews5 followers
October 12, 2021
Heather is an incredible story-teller and encourager. And if you’ve listening to her podcast, then you know she always has something good and true to say about the journey of motherhood. This book adds weight to her words. Don’t Mom Alone is for all the moms - the new mommas, the seasoned mommas, the stay-at-home mommas, the work full-time (or part-time) mommas. This book will make you want to snuggle your kids a little tighter. It will remind you that your children’s behavior is a reflection of them, not you! It will encourage you to connect – or reconnect - with your spouse. It will open your eyes to the struggles of other young mothers around the world. It will comfort your heart after loss. It will remind you of your desperate need for Jesus in every hour of momming. Heather is a great connector - she encourages moms to not do this mom-life alone. I loved this book and know there are moms out there doing the momming-alone. I encourage you to buy this book for them. Buy this for your mom friends. For the new mom. For the stuck mom. For the mom that needs a good laugh (or cry!).
Profile Image for Chelsea Vallandingham.
150 reviews2 followers
February 23, 2022
By far, the best book on mothering from a Christian perspective, to date. The focus, clearly, is on not going at it alone—combatting isolating ideas with ideas that connect us to other moms, other sisters in Christ.
I read this book for a book club, roughly two chapters a week with a meeting to discuss and dissect with other moms, and what this has done for our relationships is beyond anything I could have imagined in the beginning. Not just our mom-friendships, but between our spouses respectively, and obviously between us and our kids! But most importantly, this book is so encouraging in how it points us back to Christ’s redeeming work and his unconditional love for each of us!
So grab some friends, some coffee, and dive in! But don’t do it alone!
11 reviews
October 13, 2021
Heather hits a home run with her debut book with information applicable to every "level" of mom, from new mom, to mom of teens, to moms of moms. Encapsulating her own experiences with four children, combined with a decade of information gleaned from experts interviewed on her award-winning podcast, she encourages all of us to rely on two things: faith, and a community of people supporting us during our journey of motherhood. Her writing is inclusive of working moms, single moms, stay at home moms leaving all of us feeling encouraged and supported. Grab this book today!!!
Profile Image for Chelsea Connor.
269 reviews10 followers
September 29, 2025
This was encouraging! I’ve had this on my list for a while (it came out in 2021). I listened to the audiobook which was great- she is a podcaster so she’s easy to listen to. :) I appreciated all the pine cove shout outs! 💛
Profile Image for Kaelyn.
79 reviews1 follower
July 7, 2023
Solid nuggets throughout. The “isolating idea” and “connecting truth” of each chapter were helpful summaries, but the chapters themselves felt disjointed and didn’t clearly track.
Profile Image for Amanda.
163 reviews5 followers
April 11, 2023
4.5 stars: Very encouraging and applicable to parenting as a Christian mom; I’ll be keeping Don’t Mom Alone at hand to look back on without a doubt. Heather shares relatable stories from her own life of raising 4 boys (hello, fellow boy mom!) and invaluable wisdom for the journey of parenthood. Hers is the kind of book you read with a highlighter, but still laugh while reading and enjoy.
Profile Image for Ada Tarcau.
191 reviews51 followers
November 25, 2021
I was excited to read this, as a listener of the Don't mom alone Podcast. I did expect a larger palette of topics and more meat (as the podcast seems inexhaustible), but it really is focused on not mothering alone, on fighting isolating ideas, attitudes, habits.
Nevertheless, there are valuable reminders and perspectives addressed and they tent to have the effect of taking the pressure off, in contrast with other parenting books: ex. realising you are important but not essential in God's plan for your child, that you are limited but God is not, that you cannot produce fruit of the Spirit in your children's life, but you can team up to work alongside the Spirit that alone can truly change their hearts.

I particularly liked the chapters
*on connection: with your husband (the tool of "The story I tell myself when you do/say that is…", the beautiful idea of the morning prayer and the evening couch) and with your child (I plan to implement the mommy-time idea: each kid gets daily 10-20 min of uninterrupted solo time with mom doing whatever he enjoys)
*on anger (anger as a tool for identifying problems but not for solving them, separating the flaws from the person, and looking for the hidden strength into which the character flaw can be refined)
*on discipline (misbehaviour as expected and an opportunity to disciple and get to the heart of the matter)
*on a difficult child (how easy yet powerful to smile more, hug more, listen more; the profound reminder of Ann Voskamp's "Today, the moment when I am most repelled by a child’s behavior, that is my sign to draw the very closest to that child.")
*on passing down the faith (some researched mentioned: when young people feel close to their parents, they’re also more open to what’s important to their parents, including their faith. -> heart to heart connection + my own thriving faith; Ex. the use a lot of ‘God talk’—not empty phrases, but a genuine intermingling of their relationship with God and their daily experiences and choices. God’s presence in the child convicting from the inside what I are instructing from the outside.)
I was inspired, I needed the reminders.

There are also lots of useful references to great specialists / mentors that were guests on the podcast, to books and other resources.


Profile Image for Liz.
12 reviews11 followers
May 20, 2022
Heather did such a wonderful job of making this book applicable to moms in every season. I’ve been listening to Heather’s podcast for nearly a decade and having this book with all she has learned thru her own experiences and thru her interviews is a GIFT! It’s lovely to have a book I can easily recommend on mothering.
Profile Image for Sydney Levi.
132 reviews3 followers
April 30, 2022
I liked the book! Super practical and biblical. Just some theological differences in running home/raising family.
Profile Image for Amy.
131 reviews
July 27, 2022
Unfortunately, I cannot say that I would recommend this book to anybody. The book is lacking at the beginning causing for a slow start followed by one or two decent chapters that offer thoughtful content.

At the start of the second section, The chapters go from superficial fluff to blasphemy. Two examples include: in chapter 8 the author endorses the use of the Enneagram (if the Enneagram was a spiritual guide I do believe God would’ve told us such in his written word aka the authoritative Bible) and in chapter 9 the author endorses anger as a God-given right (her evidence is Psalm 4:4 and Ephesians 4:26 clearly pick and pecked from Scripture out of context) and since anger is innate and acceptable, if we struggle with such we should turn to…no, not God, others. This is why we shouldn’t mom alone because “made in the image of God we are to rely on others around us”. At this point the author is not only confusing but clearly confused. PLEASE READ: in our struggles we are to turn to the one and only living God. I say this because her Ch 9 reads as permission to dismiss God in times of struggles because he is removed and sitting highly on his heavenly throne, so turn to your friends to figure out a way through the bog.

Unfortunately, in chapter 11 (chapters 10-11 are anecdotal tales of the authors life and overcoming struggles with her children) she mentions a conversation with a respected and trusted Christian woman, and I’m sad to say because of her mention I now call into question that person‘s doctrine as sound.

I wanted to like this book but as a whole her use of scripture is pick and peck without context; Her content supports the title, don’t mom alone, but in regards to relying on others above our Savior; and her out and out endorsement for the Enneagram makes her unreliable and anti-biblical.
Profile Image for Aja.
128 reviews
July 3, 2025
Don’t Mom Alone is essentially for moms who intentionally isolate themselves, who sometimes struggle with connection or communication with their husbands, struggle to know how to parent or connect with their kids at times, and… I don’t know because this book just felt so disjointed to me. She said at one point that she started writing this book and was essentially allowing God to direct her and all I could think was yes. I can tell you didn’t quite have a plan when you first started writing this.

I definitely got some great nuggets from this book. Ironically, almost all of them are quotes from other authors. So one big thing I gained from this is additional authors to add to my list of future reading (although 75% of them I have already read at least one book before or was already familiar with). There were a few things I felt were a little theologically suspicious. For one thing, she promotes the enneagram, which I thought most Christian’s by now were aware of its issues.

Overall I just couldn’t relate and the assumptions she made about the reader were often not applicable to myself. I haven’t dealt with issues of isolating myself, rather I have felt isolatED in the beginning of my mothering journey and would have never chosen that path intentionally. I’ve always felt my husband was a capable father and never micromanaged him, realizing just because he doesn’t do something the way I do doesn’t mean it’s wrong. I definitely laughed at the whole pee fiasco. I assumed this book would be more on building up your village and different motherhood relationships. I just didn’t find anything revolutionary in here and personally it felt like I couldn’t relate with a lot. I’ve never listened to her podcast before but it sounds great!
Profile Image for Christine Taylor.
1 review
October 5, 2021
What a quick, simple, encouraging, life-giving read. I have been listening to Heather’s podcast since becoming a mom 6 years ago. This book did a wonderful job summarizing the hundreds of podcast episodes into 12 large picture ideas. After each chapter it has an isolating idea (typically culture may be telling us as moms), and then God’s connecting truth. While you read this book have a journey ready to answer Heather‘s wonderful, thought provoking questions at the end of each chapter. I finished this book feeling encouraged as a mom. Whether you are a mom of multiples, stay-at-home, working, or are single I think you will find this book a breath of fresh air. I would encourage you to take one chapter at a time, to allow time for God to work in you. Allowing each isolating idea you are believing as truth to be transformed into the connecting truth God wants you to believe. No mom is perfect, and we don’t have to be because God is for us! That is why we don’t have to mom alone anymore.
Profile Image for Shonda Knowlton.
86 reviews13 followers
October 23, 2021
Don't Mom Alone is book for moms who have the desire to grow in their relationship with God, other supportive relationships and connecting to their kids. There are 3 sections in this book that cover areas of these topics. Heather MacFadyen intertwines her own personal stories with expert advice from many of the people she has interviewed in her popular podcast with the same name, Don't Mom Alone. Each chapter starts with a short vignette from a reader. Each chapter has a somewhat quirky title like Let Him Be a Jerk, Cleaning Muddy Purses or Hole in My Bucket. The author ends with an isolating idea and a connecting truth (negative to positive). There are also discussion questions at the end of each chapter. In the back in a QR code with a list of podcast episodes that are specific to each chapter in the book. It really is an amazing package!

I honestly had to wrestle with some of these isolating ideas, but I really enjoyed her perspective on these and how she turned them around to a connecting truth. This would be a great book for a mom group discussion.
Profile Image for Mariale & Pieter Dros.
92 reviews1 follower
October 3, 2021
I have been following Heather MacFadyen for a while and since I heard Heather talking about her new book I have been looking forward to read it. I am so honored to have the opportunity to read an advance copy of Don't Mom Alone, a beautiful book about how we can become the mom we should be connecting with God, with our kids and have a strong community of moms. Heather shares her experience and struggles as mom with honesty, wisdom, love and humor. I could totally relate to her in many of her circumstances. As a mom of boys and living in a country in Europe where people think we have to mom alone and worship independece and perfeccion this book has been a blessing to me.
I received an advance copy of the book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange of my honest review.
Profile Image for Joyce.
88 reviews3 followers
October 13, 2021
Heather's book Don't Mom Alone is a long time coming. She has been a champion of moms in all stages. And her call-to-action is not to mom alone. It is a season of life that is full of all the things. Whether things are good or not, we need each other. We need other moms who have been there to come alongside us to let us know we're going to make it. We need other moms who are a little behind us to let them know they're going to make it. "Making it" through the season (which can be a looong season) may look different for us but in each chapter of her book, Heather shares an Isolating Idea and a Connecting Truth that will encourage moms to find their community of other mamas as we not just survive these years but to thrive.
Profile Image for B’s Literary Lists.
30 reviews
February 9, 2023
I am a mom of 3 littles 4 and under - I don’t give myself grace most days and feel like I am drowning. This book was a nice reminder that I am not the first person to be a mother, it is okay to ask and accept help, drawing closer to gosh will open up my spiritual mind to be more gracious, and that I need to put as much effort into cultivating my relationship with my husband that I put into my children. Taking a step back from trying to be perfect and instead being present is all your kids want from you! Heather has an amazing grasp of mothering, mentoring, and fellowship and shares ideas that worked for her family with the hope that it will work for yours as well. This was a great read for anyone who is a mom!
266 reviews
October 30, 2023
I was expecting a book about making friends as a mom /getting support or something.

Instead it was a random hodge podge of that, psychology and discipline book. Jumped around and didn't flush out anything.

I felt talked down to. Her assumptions about her audience often didn't apply to me. Her theology felt shaky at times (but I can't remember any examples so maybe I was just in a weird mood). - Edit from a few hours later: she mentioned the wrathful God of the old testament and compassionate God of the New Testament. That's not accurate.

There were some good reminders, especially in the parenting sections, but in general I didn't feel excited about parenting afterwords like I have with some other parenting books.
Profile Image for Hilary Hamblin.
48 reviews8 followers
October 6, 2021
I have LOVED Heather's podcast for years. I even bought the t-shirt. So when I heard she was writing a book, I couldn't wait. And it lived up to every expectation. Spoiler alert: you're a good mom. If you don't get anything else out of the book (and you will), hear that. You're a good mom. Some days we all need to hear it. Heather also pulls practical advice from years of podcast guests to help us be the moms our kids need us to be. God's calling on our lives is to make disciples. As moms, we have an assignment to disciple the kids in our home. **I received an early ebook copy of the book, but I also purchased a hard copy.**
1 review2 followers
October 6, 2021
After years of listening to the Don’t Mom Alone podcast, I was so excited to read this book and I am even more excited to go through the book with other moms as soon as it is released! Whether through cultural pressure or our own insecurities, it is so easy to believe the “isolating ideas” that Heather shares in each chapter. Through a fun, real, and easy-to-read way, Heather points us the “connecting truth” to set us free from those isolating ideas that keep us alone in our motherhood journey. This book really is an invitation to withness. To discover the joy that comes when we don’t mom alone. Even if you can’t read it with others, you will still walk away feeling like you are not alone!
Profile Image for Molly.
197 reviews12 followers
March 3, 2023
I enjoyed how no matter when I picked it it up I was able to relate to the situations whether it be about my parenting or my students and I enjoyed looking at loving kids with all our hearts no matter what expectations we are placing on them. I enjoyed the personal accounts at the beginning of each chapter.

My review is simply because personally a lot of the Bible references at time made it a slow read for me hence how long it took me to finish it. Also it was a library book so it took longer as well.

Overall great books especially if you want to Mom by following scripture.

I am interested in checking out the podcast as well
1 review1 follower
October 13, 2021
This is such an encouraging book for moms with kids of all ages! I genuinely appreciate Heather’s honesty and vulnerability in sharing her experiences. I love the connecting truths she shares in each chapter to remind us that we don’t need to do this mothering thing alone. She consistently points us back to who God is and encourages us to be in community with other moms and to be the community for other moms. Great reminders of so much truth that we forget when stuck in the day-to-day craziness of parenting.
Profile Image for Valerie.
11 reviews4 followers
October 13, 2021
This book is full of great stories and nuggets of truth for all Moms who have experienced the struggles, chaos, and joys of motherhood. Her storytelling ability is phenomenal, giving the reader a chance to feel like they are in her shoes all while being able to insert wisdom and truth into their own experiences. Motherhood can feel so isolating and filled with moments of being unseen, Heather does a wonderful job of reminding moms that we are never mothering alone and we are always seen and supported by our creator.
Profile Image for Heather Lenox.
8 reviews6 followers
October 18, 2021
THIS is the parenting book you didn't know you needed. Parenting isn't a one size fits all thing you can slap a formula on and your kid will turn out fine. Rather, it's an invitation to learning to love and live in a greater understanding that our weaknesses can be our strengths. Heather understands motherhood isn't formulaic but rather relational, and she exemplifies humility and grease in every word of this book. I can't wait to make this my "decide once" for baby showers and mom encouragement gifts!
Profile Image for Emilee (emileereadsbooks).
1,597 reviews43 followers
August 9, 2024
So many motherhood books are telling you how to mother. How to deal with discipline, sleep, and what and how to feed them. This book focuses in on the mom. How motherhood can be isolating and lonely. How you can feel lost in a new world full of conflicting information and a new life relying on you to figure it all out. But this book focuses in on how to find your footing. How to surround yourself with wisdom and love and support and not do it all by yourself. I thought it was encouraging, vulnerable, and a great message for me as I navigate my still new season of life being a mom.
Profile Image for Megan Rothermel.
6 reviews1 follower
August 9, 2021
I’ve had the privilege of reading the first chapter of “Don’t Mom Alone.” As she does in her podcast, Heather does an amazing job of connecting relatable experiences to the truth of the Gospel and what our purpose as Mothers really is. She does so in an honest and funny way that makes you feel like she’s sitting next to you cheering you on through the messiness of life. I can’t wait to read the rest of the book!
1 review
October 11, 2021
An encouraging, relatable, easy read. The author’s insights (gleaned from years of conducting interviews for her parenting podcast) nudge readers to shifts in perspective while making them laugh with her own often hilarious stories. Her authenticity is refreshing and you can sense her truly cheering you on. Don’t miss the QR code in the back, which links you to podcasts for further listening on each chapter’s topic.
1 review3 followers
October 12, 2021
I have loved Heather's podcast for years. From the wisdom she's gained listening and learning from other Mom's in every stage of life, she compiled a beautiful book to point you back to the truth of the scriptures. So many relatable experiences shared, so much practical advise to apply to your own life, and most importantly the reminder that you don't walk alone in motherhood. Can not recommend this book enough. I want to buy one for every mom I know!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 77 reviews

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