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A review by sarah_reading_party
Stretched Too Thin: How Working Moms Can Lose the Guilt, Work Smarter, and Thrive by Jessica N. Turner
4.0
What a great book. Stretched Too Thin was written as one working mom's love letter (and challenge!) to another. I found this book to be encouraging yet realistic. Jessica knows what it is like to be a working mom in a "regular" 9-5 office job... the good AND the bad. This book is full of lots of practical tips about topics from self care to home management (laundry, dishes, cooking, etc.), as well as tips for making your work life better (flexibility, boundaries, etc.) But I think the richness is the reminder that Jessica has for all of us about prioritizing faith, marriage, children, and friendship in the midst of "work." I thought the last chapter really summarized her heart behind the book so well! I also found the chapter and emphasis on goal setting to be inspiring.
I listened to the audiobook as part of the launch team (thanks to the publisher for that bonus!). I look forward to reading the physical book in the future so I can more easily journal through Jessica's thought-provoking questions at the end of each chapter.
The only issue I had with this book was related to some of the faith-based content. This is not a criticism of Jessica, her faith, or anything like that... more of a PSA. I am a Christian and my faith in Jesus is the most important thing in my life. When I heard about this book being published, as a working mom I was so excited! I did not necessarily think that it would be from a Christian perspective, but then I saw it was published by a Christian publisher (Revell). It is so good for the church (via a faith-based publisher) to support working moms! All that being said, I didn't agree with everything in the "spiritual self care" section. Mindfulness was talked about alot, and reading the Bible was mentioned but only after encouraging readers to read spiritual books like those by Ann Voscamp. It's hard to write a review and discuss this without coming across judgmental of Jessica's faith practices versus my own. There are so many factors to consider, and for all I know, she could have been more general to make her book resonate with more women. But I did want to mention that because it was the only part of the book that I didn't enthusiastically agree with.
I hope you read this book, gift it to your working mom friends, and are so encouraged by it!
Again, I was on the launch team and got to listen to it in advance thanks to a generous publisher but was not required to write a review, positive or otherwise. Thank you to all involved in the launch efforts! :)
I listened to the audiobook as part of the launch team (thanks to the publisher for that bonus!). I look forward to reading the physical book in the future so I can more easily journal through Jessica's thought-provoking questions at the end of each chapter.
The only issue I had with this book was related to some of the faith-based content. This is not a criticism of Jessica, her faith, or anything like that... more of a PSA. I am a Christian and my faith in Jesus is the most important thing in my life. When I heard about this book being published, as a working mom I was so excited! I did not necessarily think that it would be from a Christian perspective, but then I saw it was published by a Christian publisher (Revell). It is so good for the church (via a faith-based publisher) to support working moms! All that being said, I didn't agree with everything in the "spiritual self care" section. Mindfulness was talked about alot, and reading the Bible was mentioned but only after encouraging readers to read spiritual books like those by Ann Voscamp. It's hard to write a review and discuss this without coming across judgmental of Jessica's faith practices versus my own. There are so many factors to consider, and for all I know, she could have been more general to make her book resonate with more women. But I did want to mention that because it was the only part of the book that I didn't enthusiastically agree with.
I hope you read this book, gift it to your working mom friends, and are so encouraged by it!
Again, I was on the launch team and got to listen to it in advance thanks to a generous publisher but was not required to write a review, positive or otherwise. Thank you to all involved in the launch efforts! :)