Rachel Macy Stafford

Ask anyone today how they are, and the answer you’re most likely to get is “busy”. This is especially true for mothers with children still at home – the target audience for Rachel Macy Stafford’s new book, “Hands Free Life”. Stafford is another in a long line of authors with a “stop and smell the roses” message as an antidote to today’s harried pace of life.

Stafford is the writer of a popular blog, Hands Free Mama. She’s a good writer, and her message resonates with this busy mom. As someone who has read both the blog and the book, I think her blog is a better vehicle for her message. Her delivery is better in shorter, anecdotal blocks. The book, while genuine, is long on platitudes and short on practical advice. It tells us what we all inherently know, without offering any “Aha!” lightbulb moments.

2.5 stars rounded up to 3.

Thank you to NetGalley and Zondervan for a galley of this book in exchange for an honest review.
… (plus d'informations)

Pros: author can write...in an engaging and entertaining way. And she hits a few nerves with really good points and reminders about engaging with our children. Cons: the material seems best covered in her blog posts. Stretching it out into a book only rehashes similar points over and over again. Also, too much of the book had nothing to do with what the title sells you on: being hands free. Instead she delves deeply into improving self esteem and body image. By the grace of God I don't struggle as much in these areas as I do in distraction, so much of the book was a waste at best and a complete annoyance at worst. I also sincerely disagreed with some of her assessments about priorities, assessments she presented as unequivocal facts instead of her opinions. And for a woman who claims faith, 95% of the book is about what YOU must do (which honestly made me feel more stress as I listened to the audiobook). There is very little mention about seeking first God's priorities, whether they nest with yours or not.… (plus d'informations)

I downloaded this book in audio for a long car trip and while I keep turning it on when I'm on the long stretches of road with no access to a network, I don't know that I would necessarily recommend this book. It is sappy and full of clichés that don't necessarily resonate in the page after page of cheesy epiphanies. I also was really turned off by how religious this book ended up being with way too may references to how the epiphanies were pretty much gifts from god. It just completely detracted from the message for me. The only potentially good thing is that this book tries to give tips and activities that can be put into action which could be helpful. Overall this book wasn't bad, just not grounded in anything substantial so it was hard to take it seriously. I will likely only continue to read (listen) when I'm back on the road and have no other options.… (plus d'informations)