As a blogger, I connected quickly to the premise of Jennifer Laurent’s “Excerpts from the Heart of a Mom: A Conscious Approach to Parenting“. Most of my posts here at Life With Levi are about products I’ve tried out, but over at my own space (‘lil Burghers), it’s mostly about reflecting on parenting. I began blogging to give memories to my kids. Jennifer started writing “Excerpts from the Heart” as a gift for her son. Her words turned into short chapters (lessons?) about parenting.
Courtesy of Amazon.com
Laurent starts the book with a well-known fact among moms (parents!)…most of us struggle with parenting and grow with experience. True, right? Over 100 pages, she pours her parenting lessons into brief quips about parenting, most of which I could relate to.
My favorite excerpt, one I need to really listen to, was titled This Journey is Our Child’s, Not Ours. She discusses bringing her son into the world, and how from that point on, things were on his terms and not hers. (How many moms do you know that had to throw the birth plan out the window? It’s all about the kid, whether us schedulers like it or not!) If we set out without determining who or what our kids will be based on our wants, they will experience their own journey with our love. Not easy to listen to when you try to schedule every moment, outfit, or meal…but one to work through for sure.
Throughout the touching stories, Laurent discusses virtues like honesty and confidence. There are stories about parenting challenges and joys. Some will make you smile and nod, others might bring tears to your eyes. These stories from Laurent’s heart are easy to connect with and enjoy. She doesn’t parent the way she was raised, or the way her friends raise their kids. She does it her way (like I think we all should) and wrote about it.
This book would make an excellent gift (I am sure you still have a holiday party to attend, or a new mom who needs some postpartum support) . It can be picked up through Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, or Laurent’s LiveThroughTheHeart.com for $11.95 (paperback) plus select a bonus from her site. If you need a quick pick me up or one more push to buy, you can even download a chapter on Jennifer Laurent’s site.
Perhaps Laurent parents the way you do…or you want to get closer to her open minded style. Either way, this quick read is excellent for any parent (mom or dad) and is full of short chapters you can read in between “I want a snacks” and diaper changes. Trust me. This post took longer to write than it took for me to read three chapters! 
Disclaimer: I received a copy of Jennifer Laurent’s book in exchange for this honest review. All opinions (like my envy of her to have time to parent, write, and get published) are 100% my own.
That bit about it being THEIR life and following their lead … so true! I started learning that lesson when I went way past my “due date” with my firstborn, and I was trying my darndest to will her out. I finally realized that this was her life, too!
Great review! I would love to read this even though I am not a parent.
I am going to give this book a try. Always looking for ways to improve my parenting skills
This sounds like a gook book. I’ll be looking for it at my library!
I am going to read this book after reading your review. Thank you for sharing!
Looks like a good read. I am always looking for parenting skills.
Nice book.
This looks like a great book, I’m going to check it out!
I parent in this openminded way and everyone criticizes me and tries to get me to do their better parenting and I’m going to pick up this book to see if we are on the same page, then i will distribute it to my family
thanks for this great post!
thank you for sharing. I will be reading this
Parenting is not easily especially when you have critical people in your life. I like the idea of doing things the way you want.
It sounds like a book every parent should read.
I’m going to send it to my daughter. I think she would enjoy it.
Thanks for sharing this. A good book for parent reference. Hope I could buy one.
Lovely review! Thank you very much for sharing this with us, Its a good book for parents to use hope i could get one soon too!…:) Lovely blog by the way!..:D