Life on Planet Mom – A Book Review
Guide Explores Changing Relationships After Motherhood
Busy moms struggle for time. During the day-to-day chaos of raising children, a mom’s relationships with friends and loved ones – and even God – can wane. But getting overwhelmed by motherhood and letting those relationships suffer doesn’t make a woman a better mom.
A Christ-focused Approach to Relationship Building
A best-selling fiction author, Bergren is best known for the children’s books she’s penned, including God Gave Us You and God Gave Us Christmas. Bergren’s faith permeates every page of Life on Planet Mom [Revell, 2009]. Her strategies for surviving and thriving throughout the “season” of new motherhood maintain a Christ-focused approach in every relationship she encourages readers to foster.
Practical Advice in an Easy-to-read Format
Each of the book’s six chapters focuses on one of the vital relationships with which new mommies might need help: self, hubby, siblings and parents, girlfriends, the world and Papa God – an affectionate term Bergren uses for the Creator. Each chapter begins with a vignette based on four fictional female friends Bergren has fashioned to draw readers in to the subject. The chapters end with discussion questions, which readers can ponder alone or with a group of friends and some coffee.
Life on Planet Mom also includes information boxes with thought-provoking questions and creative strategies. For example, one break-out box asks, “How has becoming a mom changed how you describe yourself?” In the chapter “Who Are You Again? Oh Yeah, the Guy I Married,” Bergren devises a list of twelve ways parenthood can draw spouses closer. These easy-to-notice helps enable the reader to return to the book later for a refresher.
A Fast, Enjoyable Read
Bergren succeeds at providing just the right dose of advice without overwhelming the reader. The points are easy to remember and draw upon as moms put the advice in play. A potential reader can expect to devote 20 minutes to each chapter and complete the guide in a week. The book’s flow is somewhat interrupted, however, with the opening vignettes in each chapter. They come off superfluous and corny at times.
A Guide for All Mothers
While Life on Planet Mom caters to those newly inducted to the “mommy club,” young mothers will benefit from the book as well. Bergren makes all readers feel welcomed by directly addressing adoptive moms and single moms. And she recognizes the unique friendships moms maintain – both online and in the “real world.” Bergren includes guidance on how to relate to friends without children and gives readers scripts to practice when friendships verge onto an unhealthy path.
An Honest Look at Relationships
Life on Planet Mom gives its audience a realistic snapshot of the changes motherhood brings. Bergren and Mothers of Preschoolers International partnered in a survey of 500 women, and direct quotes from their query pepper Bergren's work. MOPS has based its curriculum for the 2009-10 year on the book.
Quotes like this one from Shellie help readers ponder their own evolving relationships: “I appreciate my mom’s heart and I am grateful for her help when my children were born. However, I do not want to parent the way she did.”
Above all, Bergren succeeds at honesty. She connects the reader with the real-life mothers and situations she addresses in the book, making moms feel they’re all from the same planet. Bergren gives readers the tools they need to explore how motherhood has changed them and then work on investing time to enhance their key relationships.
Life on Planet Mom (ISBN: 978-0-8007-3365-0)
Life On Planet Mom
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