MOODSTRControl Your Mood – Control Your Life

Description

In this engaging journey of self-discovery, Patrice Karst, a single mother, shares her practical yet witty advice with single moms everywhere. She covers a wide range of topics that concern the modern woman struggling without a mate, showing how it's possible not only to survive but to triumph. The book features dozens of quick "survival checklists" on topics such as dealing with exhaustion and reasons to be happy about being a single mom. Karst's "Ten Commandments for Single Mothers" begins with "Thou shalt not be afraid to ask for help from anyone at any time (because the offers sure as hell won't come in by themselves)." The Single Mother's Survival Guide also includes wisdom and inspiration for the single mother, touching on goals and dreams, affirmations, and gratitude.

Single moms haven't had many books to turn to in times of distress. Most parenting guides either moralize to her or ignore her altogether. Patrice Karst has righted that wrong with The Single Mother's Survival Guide. The book is obviously designed to console--and fast--the poor mom who has once again dragged the baby into the bathroom with her because she literally cannot get a moment alone. Flip open to any page and you'll find earthy bits of inspiration, with a consistently (but not sickeningly) positive slant on childcare, dating, and other facts of single-mom life. Karst never loses her tenacious hold on the realities of parenting: on her list of "Reasons to Be Happy About Being a Single Mom," the first one is "because it's happening." It's a treat to read a book so completely on the side of the mom. Karst rants against busybodies and smug marrieds: "The next person who says to you, 'Well, when you learn to be perfectly content and happy with yourself and aren't looking for a relationship--then you'll find one,' slap them for me, will ya?" So the advice isn't exactly revolutionary: love the kids, take a bath, ask for help. Still, this volume makes a fine companion piece (just ignore the workbook at the back) to the bible of single-parenting, Anne Lamott's Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son's First Year. --Claire Dederer

Description

Being a parent is challenging enough. Being a single parent can seem downright impossible—until now. Drawing on material from his successful Single Parenting That Works curriculum guide and video series, America's favorite parenting expert, Dr. Kevin Leman, brings help and hope to the legions of single parents struggling to raise happy, healthy, well-adjusted children in a loving, caring and biblically grounded way. Using his trademark quirky, no-nonsense approach, Dr. Leman shows parents how to build healthy, mature relationships with their former spouses, how to develop their children's self-esteem, and how to discipline and relate to their kids in accordance with their unique God-given personalities. Features: Building stability for your children by getting your own life in order. How forgiveness opens the door to healthy relationships Learning to deal with your “ex” with an olive branch rather than a hammer Dating and remarriage Helping your child thrive in a single parent home

Description

Putting the Pieces Back TogetherStep One: I Do Love MyselfStep Two: I Know What I WantStep Three: My Family Is Still WholeStep Four: I Can Choose Who I AmFour simple steps. A world of truth. At last, a source of compassion and support for divorced mothers facing the realities of raising children when their lives are at their most vulnerable and their self-images at their most fragile. Filled with more than a book on coping -- it is a source of understanding, encouragement, and strength that will help single women to nurture their children, resurrect their spirits, and create the life they want.

Description

When Mari Gallion, an unmarried tour guide in Alaska, discovered she was pregnant, she immediately made the decision to have the baby. What she never expected was the hypocrisy of the movement that condemns a woman's right to choose while witholding information that could empower single women who had chosen to continue with unplanned pregnancies. In response, Gallion set out to write a guide that offers unconditional assistance to the women who have chosen to take the unorthodox path of pregnancy without a partner. The Single Woman's Guide to a Happy Pregnancy is Gallion's gift to those women who find themselves pregnant and going it alone. It is a positive, affirming, and sometimes humorous how-to that covers all the bases: staying positive, getting organized, preventing depression, and finding the agencies that offer assistance. The author also gives valuable advice about living circumstances, money management, and even what mothers need to acquire before the baby comes. The Single Woman's Guide to a Happy Pregnancy is not a book about morning sickness and blotchy skin. Instead, it is about well-being, attaining power through knowledge, and planning ahead.

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Mary Pipher told us about the problems girls face in Reviving Ophelia; now in Girls Will Be Girls, JoAnn Deak gives us the solutions. In a work thats as relevant and important as Raising Cain, Deak offers a comprehensive road map to the many emotional and physical challenges girls of all ages face in todays changing world. Renowned for her knowledge of what makes girls ages 6 to 16 tick, Deak brings together stories and lessons from more than 20 years as a school psychologist, and introduces original concepts as a framework to help parents better understand their daughters.

Description

At thirty-nine, movie critic Mary Pols knew she wanted to have a baby. But never—not in a million years—on her own. When she finds herself unexpec­tedly expecting, she plunges into the greatest adventure of her life. With humor, insight, and compelling honesty, Pols reveals what it means to compromise in the name of love and to find joy in an accidental life, suddenly brimming with purpose.