Nourished: a review

Nourished is written by a mother-daughter team, and the style is very conversational and honest. I appreciated the humor and the stories woven through, and I do feel it offers some insights for women in different stages of life.

The book is broken into sections:
 / Nourished 911 /
This section covers the basics of why women end up "malnourished" in our lives, and focused on the importance of "self-care." I don't like the term "self-care", nor do I really like the premise behind it [more on this is a few], so I was a little leery as to what direction this book would take.

/Nourished Spaces and Routines/
I am a big proponent for organization, and I do agree that there is something calming about a space where things are in order, which was the heart of this section. However, I think I tend to lean more into the camp of "the state of your heart is the state of your home" [reference here].

/Nourished Bodies, Nourished Selves /
This section focused mainly on nutrition and food, and some on working out. I'm not going to lie-- I skimmed this section because the daughter is a vegetarian and a lot of it just didn't really connect with me.

/Nourished Relationships/
This was the section I enjoyed the most. It discussed the difficulties of women finding "mom friends" and gave some very practical suggestions. My favorite chapter was "Sandbox Happy Hour", where Rachel [the daughter] discusses how she has learned to find or create common interests with her son that they can enjoy together, and that also allow her to get things done that she needs to accomplish. The title of the chapter comes from this mentality and activity she did when waiting for her husband in that last long hour before he got home: she would poor herself a cool drink and she and her toddler would head out to the sandbox. She would sit on the edge with her feet in and her son would play. They enjoyed that hour together instead of watching the clock. This section also talked about the marriage relationship and how to keep it strong.

/Nourished Selves/
This section is mainly about the spiritual side of things, and how to continually nourish our relationship with God. Becky [the mom] spoke about her mantra of "joy anyway" which was great.

Overall the book is heavy in the authors' stories, with bits of "practical/how-to" woven throughout. There is definitely some great tips and thoughts to be gleaned from it. However, I struggle with the push for "self-care" that seems prevalent today. Yes, I think moms in general focus on others and can often experience burnout or an unhealthy lifestyles because of it. I think there needs to be balance, but I don't always think that that looks like a day at the spa for me. I just don't. Because this is the season I'm in. I do think there are better ways I can change my attitude and adjust small things throughout my day that will make me more "nourished". I guess I just get a little anxious when I think about self-care because I think it can easily spiral into "I need to find myself". I like how Rachel Jankovic talks about that subject in her book Loving the Little Years: "Your children change you into a different person. If you suddenly panic because it all happened so fast and now you don't recognize yourself, what you need is not time alone. What you need is your people. Look out-- look at the people who made you what you are-- your husband and your children. Study them. They are you. If you want to know yourself, concentrate on them." 

I think there is a lot of truth and wisdom in the pages of Nourished, and I enjoyed it, but wrestle with a few ways in which a couple things are presented.

Thank you to Book Look Bloggers and Zondervan who provided me with a copy in exchange for my review. All opinions are my own.