"Carry On, Warrior": A Book Tasting

By Amy

Hey friends!  Have you heard of this book??  IT IS FABULOUS.  I am super excited to share it with you!  And, the phrase: "book review" sounds a little boring, so just think of this as a yummy little taste, (ya know, like when you hit the jackpot of samples at Costco.)  I've loved the author of this book, Glennon Melton, ever since I stumbled upon her TED X talk:  Lessons from the Mental Hospital.

(Gotta watch it, guys! She is SO funny!)

I watched it, and ugly cried, and loved her immediately.  She shares her truths with such warmth, and encourages others to do the same.  Her thoughts resonate so completely with me.  No, I'm not a recovering alcoholic, bulimic, or drug addict, but, just like you, I can totally relate to feeling afraid and not good enough.  I love her wisdom and vulnerability.  I admire her honesty: that's my goal for SOM-- to create a place for women to laugh, connect, share stories, and talk about the things that matter most to them--to share their truth.

If you love her TED talk, you'll also love her blog: Momastery.  This is my favorite post on her blog: "Don't Carpe Diem."  Haha...I laughed so hard, and felt hugely relieved to hear somebody else admit (in her hilarious way) that they don't find it possible to"cherish every moment" while raising babies and toddlers.  Haha...thank you, Glennon.  I needed that validation.

Recently, Glennon invited other bloggers to share stories about their own messy, beautiful lives on her blog...and I was sooo in!  Here's my post about my hard--and often ridiculous--struggle overcoming anxiety:  Kicking Fear in the Face: My Messy, Beautiful.

She also offered to send her book to fellow-bloggers to read and share.  Of course I was like, "Um, a full book of your stories!?  Heck yes, please."

So I requested her book: Carry On, Warrior, which I received for free and immediately began devouring.

OH, this book!  I mean, guys--it's a New York Times Bestseller.  So, it's kinda a big deal.

While I read, I laughed sooo hard and cried too.  Mostly because many of her stories and thoughts rang so true to my own personality quirks.  So many times the thought ran through my head, "Dang!  I wish I would have written that!"  She expresses so well the hilarious, joyful, and heart-breaking situations we find ourselves in as mothers, women, wives, and humans.  

Her vulnerability and honesty is completely refreshing.  But, it's not a tragic memoir that makes you miserable and wanting to lay down and die....on the contrary, her book made me want to get up and live!  Even stories from the sad parts of her life are interwoven with her warm/sharp wit.  She is a master story-teller.

This book left me happier to be my own crazy self, and more ok with my imperfections.  It also made me want to reach out more to other ladies, cause we all are fighting our own battles!  

She is a person whose life is shaped by her faith in Christ.  As a fellow Christian (I'm a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints...aka Mormon) I LOVED to see how her beliefs translate into the way she actually lives her daily life.  Isn't that what faith in Christ is really about: applying His love, strength and teachings to the everyday wonderful and sucky stuff that we all deal with?  As she said, life is beautiful and brutal.  It's brutiful.  It's about showing up, even when we'd rather curl up in a ball and hide.  Just having the courage to show up can be enough.

Her cleaning and cooking philosophy had me rolling (especially her fancy pseudo vacuuming technique) and her insights into her relationships with her spouse, her sister, her parents, and her extended family brought many "aha" moments to me.  And her momming mishaps reassured me that we are all mommas on a learning curve.  (Oh, you will LOVE the dentist office story, not to mention the paper-bag-over-her-own-head parenting technique...Oh my Heck, I need a paper bag to deal with my emotionally bi-polar toddler!)  And, she only swears a few times in the book. :)

I love Glennon's words from Momastery:

"When it comes to God and faith and religion, I have some hunches…but I only know two things to be true--

1. I am God’s beloved child.
2. So is everyone else."

Yep.


Seriously friends, you gotta read Carry On, Warrior.  I'll include a link to the book on Amazon (I'm an Amazon affiliate)...and if you buy it after clicking through this link, I get a tiny commision, which helps to fund and run Swag On, Momma.  So, thank you! :)

Please share this with anyone who you think would be interested in this book. :)  And, if you've read it, I'd love to hear your thoughts!