About the Author: Jennifer Grant is mother to four children and author of Love You More: The Divine Surprise of Adopting My Daughter (2011). For more than a decade she wrote for papers in the Sun-Times newsgroup. Currently she freelances for the Chicago Tribune and is a regular contributor to hermeneutics, Christianity Today magazine’s blog for women. Grant is a Wheaton College graduate who received her master’s in English and Creative Writing from Southern Methodist University. She lives outside of Chicago, IL.
Sample Chapter (opens as a PDF)
MOMumental is a parenting book like no other. Instead of telling you all about what you’re doing wrong, Jennifer Grant identifies with you. She meets you at your mom level and writes about being a mom. From parenting mistakes to parenting successes, Jennifer Grant makes sure to point out that in raising children, one of the most important things parents need to remember is to be intentional. She shares stories from her life to show the reader that parenting is never as perfect as we want it to be. She’s been there, she knows, and she wants to share with other parents, specifically moms, that we can do it. That even if we mess up sometimes, it’s probably not the end of the world, even if we feel like it!
I really liked this book. Being a mom I could identify with so much of what she wrote it wasn’t even funny! Mommy burnout, so been there. Learning how to be present, working on it. It’s going to sound so cliche but I laughed, I cried… I really did. Right now my kids are all small so when she wrote about the times her kids were younger and she had less than stellar moments, I understood completely. And it made me feel so much better knowing that I’m not the only one who has freaked out over something and then regretted it later. If you’re a mom and you need a little bit of encouragement, read MOMumental. I know, I know, “When?”. I totally get that, I read most of the book in the bathroom (hiding from kids, not actually using it!) or late at night. But seriously, get it, take your time reading it, it’ll be a blessing in some way, I’m sure. 🙂
And here’s the good part!! One lucky reader will win a copy of MOMumental!
All you have to do is leave a comment on this post with a mommy moment you’re not too embarrassed to share. (When I post the winner, I’ll share one of mine!) This giveaway is open until June 3rd at midnight and the winner will be picked via random.org. For extra entries, share on Facebook and/or Twitter and leave another comment if you do (one for each).
Disclaimer: Handlebar Marketing gave me one book to review and one to give away in exchange for an honest review.
A Few Good Words 
Thanks for this review–I agree it’s such a great book. I often ask myself, What is a good parent? We moms often set impossible standards for ourselves, and feel that we can never be “a good mom.” Or at least a good enough mom. Momumental was so encouraging to me as a mom. Jennifer Grant offers solid advice, not just on parenting but on how to be intentional about building a family culture. She writes honestly about her own mistakes, her own perfectionism, and how her own family of origin impacted her. She also tells beautiful stories about her family. I’m recommending this book who anyone who is raising children—which is a messy but beautiful art.
Certainly we do expect too much perfection as parents and need to strike a balance. You made me remember the day I was helping out at my daughter’s preschool. I bent over to pick up a toy and passed gas. The entire class was laughing including the teachers. The only serious faces were mine and my daughter, who looked at me like “how could you?!” The teacher explained it was only natural but I wished I was not the one to bring that little lesson to the class!