This post contains affiliate links.
The family is where we learn relationship skills. And the way we relate to our children and teach them to relate to each other, even in the heat of battle, can be our permanent gift to them. (p.240)
Can you guess the issue we’re tackling at our house lately, hah? Siblings Without Rivalry was an easy read with approachable advice. I zoomed through it in a matter of days and have added a few new tips to my parenting toolbelt. Our results haven’t been earth-shattering, but are definitely headed in the right direction.
You can never escape the bonds of family history, no matter how far you travel. And the skeleton of a house can carry in its bones the marrow of all that came before. (4%)
I really knew nothing about this book going into it, other than the fact that the author also wrote Orphan Train. A Piece of the World is a fictional memoir based on Andrew Wyeth’s painting, Christina’s World. The story is gut-wrenching and sad, but beautiful too. I was surprised how much I liked it – I found it hard to put down.
THE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS by M.L. Stedman
My Rating: ★★★☆☆
You only have to forgive once. To resent, you have to do it all day, every day.
Oh man. This book is so hard! I really struggled with the ethics of it all and my heart was pulled in all directions. I couldn’t stop thinking that the actions of adults can drastically change the lives of innocent children, both for good and for bad. I know I’ll be thinking about this one for awhile.
In the end, raising a wild child is much more about seeding love than knowledge…Antoine de Saint-Exupery expressed this point beautifully: “If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.”
Nature connection is the ship we’re trying to build. Our goal as mentors is not to share facts or assign tasks. It is to be match-makers, to help children fall in love with nature so that they long to be immersed within it. That emotional pull, if deeply entrenched, will nourish a lifelong sense of wonder and a desire to seek answers. If you help to cultivate that longing, children will figure out the rest. (p.281)
How to Raise a Wild Child was part of my “summer reading” and I kept notes on the blog throughout the month. Equal parts educational and inspiring, I closed the book really feeling like I could mentor my children in this area, despite my deficiency! Really, really good.
If living in Sticksville has taught me one thing, it’s that cutting down on choice can take some of the hassle out of modern life. Too many options for things to do, places to eat (ha!) or what to wear (hello London wardrobe) can feel like a burden rather than a benefit. Danes specialise in stress-free simplicity and freedom within boundaries. (99%)
THE DRY by Jane HarperMy Rating: ★★★☆☆
Death rarely changes how we feel about someone. Heightens it, more often than not. (61%)
Kindle Books: 21 // Paper Books: 18
Original 2018 books “to-read” total on Goodreads: 443 // Current “to-read” total: 433
Agree with your review of Living Danishly.
Best new read this month was Sprig Muslin by Georgette Heyer. I also re-read Joy in the Morning by Betty Smith; a long time favorite.
I've never heard of Sprig Muslin – I'll check it out, thanks!
I also flew through Siblings without Rivalry. I found reading it to be easy, but practicing it to be a different beast altogether. Ha!
I loved The Light Between Oceans, and cried so much reading that book! Gah! The movie was also good!
I loved The Dry, although I listened to it, which I always feel like is cheating somehow (ha!) and I just listened to Force of Nature, which I also loved. And I have to be honest here… I may have only loved it because the person reading it has an Australian accent. 😉
Just added Force of Nature to my hold list at the library!