Amber C. Haines

This precious and felt book The Mother Letters published by Revell was born for an intuition and a decision of these two writers, Seth and Amber Haines.



Seth Haines and his wife Amber had had in just three years three children and Amber stayed at home all the time for taking care of their three babies. Just of course, it wasn't simple at all and not everyday a joke or a sunny postcard of perfection, you know. Three babies can give a lot of work and stress.
So Seth Haines for Christmas 2008 decided and thought that maybe his wife needed some encouraging words from other moms much more than material gifts.

Wouldn't have been great to receive a bunch of letters from other Moms about their experience in the Motherhood and the meaning of it?

At first they were friends with similar experiences, later Amber's favorite bloggers, and thanks to some Seth's friends, letters arrived from all the country.Various contributors can be found at the end of the book.

Inspiration, hope, sacrifice, enthusiasm, love, sufferance, understanding.

Being a mom means not only a choice, but something irreversible. A complete dedication to another human being for the rest of the life.

The couple decided to publish the letters received recently for creating an inspirational and encouraging book for newly moms but also for the most navigating ones because the work of a mom is never ending.

These letters are impressive for their profundity and their love and beauty of their words. Most of them touching.

These ladies are God Believer so also when life is tragic or difficult able to cope with all of it finding joy, support, help and strength thanks to God and Jesus.

Letters the most diversified ones. There is who thinks that (true) children grow up fast and so why not remembering that first years?
Another mom thinks that living this role doesn't mean at all to be perfect. No: all the opposite. It means to choose everyday what it is good for the children.

Maybe a mom can be judged for her own decisions but something else is truly real: that child has just that mom in the entire world and he/she is growing up thanks to her. And this is the only fact that counts.

There are letters of moms reporting experiences with special children, other ones with children with some terrible illnesses and not anymore on Earth but all these letters are precious and absolutely stunning for the powerful and positive message that they spread: a message of love, understanding, encouragement a message that passes through the experience of being a mom to the one of growing up other lives also in sufferance thinking that this one was what God wanted for us.

Some of these moms didn't imagine the force that being a mother would have meant. Other ones remembered their expectations as girls, traveling, having some fun before to settle down. Life changed forever for them with the arrival of a baby. Without regrets.

Being a mom is the greatest blessing add another lady.

There is the experience of step-mom, women who didn't biologically create children but found children of her partner and grew up them as if they would have been their children.


Enjoy this book.
It's wonderfully written, it warms the heart thanks to these beautiful letters written by enchanting souls! remembering always that the role and complexity of being a mom is terribly enchanting.



I read this book thanks to Netgalley.com

… (plus d'informations)

The style of this book is unusual. I guess it is meant to be poetic or creative or maybe a stream of consciousness. It didn't work that well for me. It felt as if at times the language used was so wordy that I couldn't extract what the author was actually saying. There were also sentences that didn't make sense to me, an average reader, maybe because the author had gone beyond my creative thinking ability!

The author has obviously had a difficult life--involved in drugs and new age practices at a fairly young age. She gives details of an abortion, fornication and an affair. I wonder if she will regret exposing these details at some stage. I'm surprised that her husband didn't object, honestly. Sometimes I wonder about the wisdom of this level of sharing--maybe it will help those who have gone through a similar experience and feel that there is no hope. If that if the intention of the author then I hope some are truly helped.

I also struggled with the theology. The whole premise of the book (and the author's story) is that the church has lost its way--that our lives are not being lived as God intended and that we have created either a dull, formal, legalistic religion or a mega-church focused purely on numbers and entertaining people. We should return to Eden?! Whilst I agree with the author on some aspects, I believe she has come to the wrong conclusions in order to combat these problems. She suggests that the problems have arisen from a rigid interpretation of the Bible--We use doctrine to harness the Holy Spirit...Jesus didn't come to bring us the Bible.... Too often we're prone to worship the Good Book, as perfectly true as those words may be.... I do not believe the Bible is a fourth person of the Trinity.... I leaned so heavily on doctrine that I turned away from belief that the Holy Spirit was active anywhere other than in the reading of Scripture.

Personally, I don't think that the Bible is the issue. We obviously don't worship the book itself as some religions do but the words in the Bible are the inspired words of God Himself. I think it is dangerous to begin undermining the Bible in this way and suggesting reliance on senses or feelings of the Spirit within. These things can be very subjective and we are prone to wander if we don't come back to the Word.

I find the author's conversion experience also a little strange. She was obviously at breaking point having hit rock bottom and had virtually decided that life was no longer worth living. She suggests that it was at this point that God met her on the floor of her room. She speaks about God making our untidy, unfinished lives, authentic, free and whole. She suggests that we should return home to a place of acceptance, fulfillment and identity--and into the heart of God. But I'm not sure that these are the things that God wants us to focus on. The author doesn't really talk about repentance or transformation through Jesus' death on the cross for her sin. She doesn't speak about the glories of heaven or the horrors of hell. She acknowledges her sin in a roundabout way and her life does change...

She quotes the verse that is often misquoted to advise that we should "love others as we love ourselves." She uses this verse as evidence that our lives can only be restored when we love ourselves. But actually, what this verse is saying is the opposite--that we already love ourselves because it is human nature to be selfish/self-focused. It is an assumption that we love ourselves and it is therefore used as an understandable instruction for us to measure our love for others. The verse is not a command to love ourselves....

It is ironic that I am one of those conservative Christians focused on the Bible that the author can't relate to, yet I too spent 6 years in the world as a late teen/early twenties. My experiences made me more inclined to stick to the Bible as I saw what a mess I made of my life when I strayed....

I don't really know what to make of this book or the author's experiences. I guess there is something of a disconnect here between the creative and the down to earth. The book is clean-there is no bad language, violence or graphic sexual content. I felt the author gives too much detail about her personal life but others may think it is okay.



… (plus d'informations)

This precious and felt book The Mother Letters published by Revell was born for an intuition and a decision of these two writers, Seth and Amber Haines.



Seth Haines and his wife Amber had had in just three years three children and Amber stayed at home all the time for taking care of their three babies. Just of course, it wasn't simple at all and not everyday a joke or a sunny postcard of perfection, you know. Three babies can give a lot of work and stress.
So Seth Haines for Christmas 2008 decided and thought that maybe his wife needed some encouraging words from other moms much more than material gifts.

Wouldn't have been great to receive a bunch of letters from other Moms about their experience in the Motherhood and the meaning of it?

At first they were friends with similar experiences, later Amber's favorite bloggers, and thanks to some Seth's friends, letters arrived from all the country.Various contributors can be found at the end of the book.

Inspiration, hope, sacrifice, enthusiasm, love, sufferance, understanding.

Being a mom means not only a choice, but something irreversible. A complete dedication to another human being for the rest of the life.

The couple decided to publish the letters received recently for creating an inspirational and encouraging book for newly moms but also for the most navigating ones because the work of a mom is never ending.

These letters are impressive for their profundity and their love and beauty of their words. Most of them touching.

These ladies are God Believer so also when life is tragic or difficult able to cope with all of it finding joy, support, help and strength thanks to God and Jesus.

Letters the most diversified ones. There is who thinks that (true) children grow up fast and so why not remembering that first years?
Another mom thinks that living this role doesn't mean at all to be perfect. No: all the opposite. It means to choose everyday what it is good for the children.

Maybe a mom can be judged for her own decisions but something else is truly real: that child has just that mom in the entire world and he/she is growing up thanks to her. And this is the only fact that counts.

There are letters of moms reporting experiences with special children, other ones with children with some terrible illnesses and not anymore on Earth but all these letters are precious and absolutely stunning for the powerful and positive message that they spread: a message of love, understanding, encouragement a message that passes through the experience of being a mom to the one of growing up other lives also in sufferance thinking that this one was what God wanted for us.

Some of these moms didn't imagine the force that being a mother would have meant. Other ones remembered their expectations as girls, traveling, having some fun before to settle down. Life changed forever for them with the arrival of a baby. Without regrets.

Being a mom is the greatest blessing add another lady.

There is the experience of step-mom, women who didn't biologically create children but found children of her partner and grew up them as if they would have been their children.


Enjoy this book.
It's wonderfully written, it warms the heart thanks to these beautiful letters written by enchanting souls! remembering always that the role and complexity of being a mom is terribly enchanting.



I read this book thanks to Netgalley.com

… (plus d'informations)

Wild in the Hollow is an engaging autobiography of a young woman who lost her way, finds herself in a desperate place, and opens herself to the God of hope, purpose, and security. Amber Haines' vulnerability is to be admired as she puts down on paper thoughts, attitudes, and actions that most of us keep close to our skin. Her journey through young adulthood, marriage, and motherhood goes many directions while she looks for authenticity from others and herself. I identified with her strong desire to live for God, love her husband, and raise her children well. Her stark openness hit like I was reading her journal. She searches for peace, a simple life uncluttered with our society's trappings so she can focus on God's reality for her. I found myself underlining many truths throughout the book. I doubt this will be the last we hear from her.

I received this book from Revell Reads/Net Galley for my honest review which I have given.… (plus d'informations)