Book Review: Wonder Women

Wonder Women; Navigating the Challenges of Motherhood, Career, and Identity by Kate Harris and Re/Frame by Andy Crouch is a book in the Frames series that looks at different areas of concern and stress in Christians and people’s lives.  Other books include 20 and somethings, Becoming Home (adoption, fostering, etc.), The Hyperlinked Life, and Schools in Crisis. 

Wonder Women takes a look at the many roles women, with and without children, face in today’s society. This book looks at many survey statistics into how women prioritize, spend their time, and feel achievement or inadequacy in many areas of their lives. Then author Kate Harris uses these statistics to explain how our lives are multifaceted.  This book does not offer steps in how to improve life or an ultimate way to fix it.  This book is just encouragement saying “I know.  I understand.”  Then she explains how each woman needs to find satisfaction in their current life situation and make the best of it for the glory of Christ.  Priorities will change.  You are never really able to compartmentalize work and home and family so why try.  It’s okay to let all of your facets be who you are all the time.

All in all I really enjoyed this book.  It came to me at a great time (I’m about to start back to work after 8 weeks of maternity leave).  I enjoyed the affirmation that is okay for women to have many hates and for them to all coincide in my life.

Book Review: Ingredients for Success

Ingredients for Success: 10 Best Practices for Business and Life by Joseph James Slawek is a book looking at the three parables in Matthew 25 and applying 10 key principles from those stories to life and business.  The Author is known for his success as the CEO or FONA (Flavors of North America) located in Chicago Illinois.  This book contains the key principles he has learned from his faith and the bible that were the key to his success and the success of his company.

In the beginning I did not think I was going to like this book. In the first few chapters the author spends a lot of time talking about himself and his company.  He kept reiterating this wasn’t about him just any example but it came off as a really long brochure about him and his company.  About half way through the book changed.  Yes, he still talked about himself but the tone changes into a really useful insightful book about business and life.  I really enjoyed how he broke apart the three parables (the 10 virgins, the bags of gold, and the sheep and goats) and pulled many simple ideas out of them.  The principles of always telling the truth, being prepared, and always trying your best are things we all know yet struggle to implement in our daily lives.

Overall I really enjoyed this book.  I will keep it on my shelf as a reminder as I think about starting a business.

Note: I did receive a copy of this book for free to read and review from handlebar publishing.  The opinions above are my own and I was not compensated for a positive review.