Book Nook: Unbound - Finding Freedom from Unrealistic Expectations of Motherhood

All mothers I know have certain expectations for what motherhood will be like. I know many mothers whose journey towards motherhood has been anything but typical, whether it's included infertility, adoption, or fostering. Or maybe they had a "traditional" pregnancy, but had complications afterwards. 

A book I got to review, Unbound - Finding Freedom from Unrealistic Expectations of Motherhood, is an open and honest story of one mother's journey towards motherhood. Author Jamie Sumner is honest about her own struggles, and shares them with raw emotion but still with hope.

The book has four parts: wanting, waiting, getting, and appreciating. I like that it did focus on the "pre-mother" phase as well, because I think as moms we all have an image in our minds of what the journey to motherhood is like, and as someone who didn't conceive as easily as I'd hoped, I know what it's like for that journey to be rockier than it "should."

The book highlights Biblical women as well, who didn't quite fit the mold of their times, and I find that quite helpful. The guiding questions aid in reflection, and really make this book more powerful. All of the women included had something non-traditional about their journey of motherhood or being a woman - Mary, Hannah, Sarah, Elizabeth, and more.

JAMIE SUMNER is a writer for Parenting Special Needs Magazine as well as a regular contributor to Scary Mommy, Mom.me, Parent.co Magazine, Her View From Home Magazine, Tribe Magazine, Mamalode Magazine, and Complex Child Magazine. Her IVF journey has also been featured on Fox 17 News. She and her husband fought infertility for two years before seeking medical intervention. She has a son, Charlie, diagnosed with Beckwith-Wiedemann Syndrome and cerebral palsy, and boy/girl twins, Jonas and Cora. She blogs regularly at http://www.mom-gene.com.