Raising Up Mommy by Heidi Hess Saxton--Book Review

This review will be different than the others you'll find here because I reached for this book when I truly needed it. Heidi Hess Saxton toured with Pump Up Your Book Promotion in May. A review of her book, Behold Your Mother: Mary Stories and Reflections from a Catholic Convert appears here. Heidi sent me Raising Up Mommy: Virtues for Difficult Mothering Moments as a gift and I tucked it in my TBR pile--which is always threatening to topple over from the sheer number of books stacked on top of each other.

As parents, I believe we all suffer through moments of self-doubt. This past Sunday was Father's Day. After getting four hours of sleep, I crawled out of bed and began getting me and my girls ready for church. Services were followed by a trip to McDonald's for lunch and the rest of the time was spent trying to make it a relaxing day for my husband and entertaining the kids, while attempting to complete household chores. By 9:30 PM I was ready for some down time, but my daughter couldn't sleep. To say that I was less than sympathetic would be a major understatement. I still had several things to do--which included frosting cupcakes to bring into school the next morning--and I wanted the kids out of my hair so that I could get my work done and jump into bed before 2:00 AM.

I told my daughter that she had to stay in her bed and try to sleep. After she called me several more times and an exasperated and angry reply came her way, I told her she could read for a few minutes. Eventually she drifted off to sleep and I breathed a sigh of relief...until she woke for a second time, claiming she had a belly ache. Once again, my state of exhaustion and the late hour left me more concered with getting my work done than in coddling my child. After several terse moments, I agreed to rub her belly and again she drifted off to sleep. In the hours that followed, as I struggled in a distracted state to complete my work, I knew that I was an uncaring, insensitive mother who failed to put her child's needs ahead of her own.

Turning off the power on my laptop, I reached for Raising Up Mommy and shut the light off in my office. I brewed a cup of tea and slid into a bath of steamy water to ease the tension.

Heidi's words touched my heart as she shared what it was like to become an instant mommy to her foster children. It changed her life, and admittedly, Heidi wasn't always prepared for the demands her new role placed upon her. The "Mommy Monster" came out and she struggled with a way to tame it.

Raising Up Mommy--which is part of the Women of Grace Life Guide Series--puts you back in control by giving you "Action Steps" to move towards taming your "Mommy Monster". Heidi helps you find ways to relieve stress and to spot your "Mommy Monster" by exploring the seven "deadly sins". You'll find out more about womanly virtues and what they mean to your life as a mother.

Filled with Scripture, self-tests, and questions to reflect upon and discuss, Raising Up Mommy will help you identify where your "Mommy Monster" comes from and tame it with "Action Steps" that bring you to a better place; a place that will find you feeling better just knowing that you aren't the only mother who has struggled like this.

I highly recommend Raising Up Mommy: Virtues for Difficult Mothering Moments to every woman entrusted with caring for and nurturing children.


Title: Raising Up Mommy: Virtues for Difficult Mothering Moments
Author: Heidi Hess Saxton
Publisher: Simon Peter Press
ISBN-10: 0-9777430-2-0
ISBN-13: 978-0-9777430-2-5
U.S. Price: $8.99