cover image Your Children Will Raise You: The Joys, Challenges, and Life Lessons of Motherhood

Your Children Will Raise You: The Joys, Challenges, and Life Lessons of Motherhood

. Trumpeter, $18.95 (256pp) ISBN 978-1-59030-064-0

Grab the tissues and let the dishes pile up by the sink-at last there is a book that speaks to a mother's heart. Steinberg's collection of essays by contemporary authors ponders the private side of motherhood. Divided into four thematic sections, the book tackles motherhood from all angles, though some pieces hit harder than others. The first section takes an honest look at being a mother. Next follows a spiritual take on motherhood, then an exploration of tough issues such as guilt and media stereotypes. Stressed-out parents will turn directly to section four: writings about balancing parenting and other aspects of a full life. The content ranges from the lighthearted, such as Susan Douglas' and Meredith Michaels' take on the seemingly ordinary task of grocery shopping: ""Now, if you were a 'good' mom, you'd joyfully empty the shopping bags and transform the process of putting the groceries away into a fun game your kids love to play,"" to the heady: ""...the complexities and nuances of our ordinary, everyday mental and emotional experiences is available to us a little out of our conscious awareness,"" write Harville Hendrix and Helen Hunt. Packed with nuggets of spiritual wisdom: ""Motherhood is the perfect path for spiritual practice, for enlightenment,"" as well as common sense: ""One reason there is not a great deal written about what it is like to be the mother of a new infant is that there is rarely a moment to think of anything else besides that infant's needs,"" this book is aimed at mothers, but it might be most appreciated by grandmothers with time for leisure reading.