Mojo Mom: Nurturing Your Self While Raising a Family

by Amy Tiemann

Book Overview

Read Amy Tiemann's posts on the Penguin Blog.

MOJO MOM helps you answer the question, "Who Am I Now that I'm A Mom?"

What is Mommy Mojo? It's the feeling you get when you're a parent at the top of your game, juggling the kids and the many facets of life, and keeping your own needs in balance. Motherhood is a tremendous gift, but it's also a huge identity shift. Becoming a Mojo Mom means bringing your self and your dreams...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1592404553
• ISBN13: 9781592404551
• Release Date: April 2009
• Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.9" x 8.8"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Validating and a good read

Mojo Mom is a thoughtfully written and very helpful book, full of stimulating ideas. Most importantly, it offers validation throughout, a key ingredient to happiness in motherhood. I highly recommend it!

A Must-Read For Any Mom

Tiemann is truly gifted in the art of poignant messaging. As a new mother of a 3 1/2 month old girl, this book could not have come at a better time in my life. I have read parenting books, magazines, and websites galore but none came close to the effect this book had on me. Tiemann takes on the intense amount of change most career-oriented women face when we feel a chunk of the life we were used to slipping away and gives us practical advice on embracing it. Thankfully, she reminded me that I am allowed to hold onto myself without questioning any of the profound love I have for my daughter. She seemed to know exactly what it was that I wished someone would tell me and laid it out in one easy, fun read. Being a parent is the most important and rewarding journey of my life, and now I feel that I have one more tool in my toolbelt to ensure that I am the best parent I can be. I recommend that all moms read this book. I plan on giving it to several I know.

Get your mojo back

I bought this book and literally could not put it down. Even before I finished, I started putting Amy's suggestions into practice. And the small changes I've made have already made a difference. I am examining all the things I do and determining which activities are really necessary and bringing me (or my kids) enjoyment. I'm realizing how important it is to have an identity other than mom - not that being a mom isn't a great or important thing but just that we are still our own person too. I so recommend this book for all moms. It would make a great shower gift too. There are tons of books about taking care of your children, your body, etc. This one tells you how to nurture your spirit and gives practical ways that you can do it no matter what the age of your children are or what your situation is. This would be a wonderful Mothers' Day gift too!

Mojo Mom stands out

As an editor at a parenting magazine, I see hundreds of parenting books each year, but Mojo Mom stands out as a personal favorite. Many moms read about pregnancy, delivery, newborn development, potty training, discipline, but forget to pick up a book about what's happening to mom. For a job that is so life-changing, so consuming, so challenging, there are very few books with thoughtful, practical advice about how to take care of ourselves - I found Mojo Mom hit the target beautifully. Tiemann writes like a best girlfriend, a coach, an expert, and fellow mother about the earth-shattering shifts to a mother's identity and how to nurture that tremendous change with down-to-earth, thoughful advice. I recommend this book to expecting moms, new moms, any woman with children. Chapter 8 "Keeping Your Resume Fresh and Your Financial Future Secure" is particularly inspiring, especially if you've taken a step back from your career to raise children, but want to be prepared for the next stages of your life. Chapter Five, "Centering, Silence and Reclaiming Your Mind Space" is a wonderful chapter if you're drowning in demands, not only from family, friends and work, but from noise, media, news. Chapter Two, "Life Inside the Cocoon: The Early Months of Motherhood" is an essential read for expecting and new moms. What grabbed me about Mojo Mom was the subtitle, "Nurturing Your Self While Raising a Family." Everyone tells us to enjoy these years with our children, and Mojo Mom is a wonderful "how-to guide" to show us how to do that. Plenty of references, resource, suggestions, advice, insights, and easy-to-read chapters. Highly recommended.

A book that is REALLY for moms

Mojo mom is a must-read for mothers, mothers-to-be, and supporters of mothers who feel that current parenting literature neglects one of the key elements in a healthy, happy household--the mom, herself. When I was pregnant with my first child, I felt simultaneously overwhelmed and underwhelmed with traditional pregnancy and parenting literature--books like What to Expect When You're Expecting gave so much information I felt I couldn't absorb it or ever be the kind of mom they were describing. They also neglected the emotional aspects of mothering. The Girlfriends Guide was a humorous alternative, but certainly does not get to the core of what it means to be a woman after you become a mom. Mojomom addresses the subject head-on with true empathy and in a beautifully written, enjoyable style. Becoming a mom, for many of us, is a bit isolating even as it is joyful. The traditional antidotes to that isolation, such as mothers' groups, with their heavy focus on children, don't do much to counter that isolation. The most beneficial aspect of Mojomom is that as you read it, you begin to feel validated and part of a community of mothers who believe that one of the best gifts you can give your children is keeping a bit of yourself intact.