Book Review

I read her book this weekend. It was like catching up with an old friend. I loved many things about it. I loved that she felt restless and they sold their house without knowing where they were going to live so she, her husband, and her two sons moved in with her parents. So cool to read someone's experience that almost exactly mirrors my own and how they processed that.
They were told her oldest son was not quite making growth markers for social and mental development when he was three and he was put in a special education school for kids who are challenged this way, only to realize that he's this amazing kid who is very gifted musically, but was shy and reserved. He just needed time to unfold and grow into who he was. I felt so confirmed in my little Jonah reading about her own son's story. He was such a quirky kid when he was little, was highly stressed in large social settings, but he was so smart. Trav and I prayed over him and felt so strongly that Jonah was a special unique bird that maybe didn't look at the world the same as the rest of us, but that it didn't mean something was wrong with him. We hung in there with him through some gnar gnar times, but now he's this amazingly cool, social kid that is just thriving and amazes us every day. Yay for you Jonah!
She talks a lot about her kids becoming teenagers and letting go, giving them room to become who they are and not hold so tight as they were getting ready to leave home. It was good to get a peak at what's ahead to think about how I want to mother my babies as they grow. My one disappointment was that her process with grieving her oldest son growing up and leaving for college was constantly woven throughout the book. It was a bit much for me. Perhaps having it contained in a chapter, but not constantly revisited over and over would've been better. Of course, that will probably be me when I'm there, I'm circular in how I process stuff, I talk it over and over until I come to grips with a decision or a change that's happening. My poor friends hear the same thing over and over when I talk:)
So yes, her first book is my favorite still, but I loved this one too, it was raw and real, just the way I like it!