book for our november choice in a book club i am a part of.my reaction: a big fat eye roll.
dr. laura??? yuck. i tried listening to her program a couple of years ago and was amused at first, but then it was too much to stomach and until recently i thought it was because i hated her and her approach to helping people.
and then yesterday after finishing her book i realized, nope. i can't stand the people who call in time and time again determined to be unhappy in their lives.
we all have things that we love to hold on to even though deep down we KNOW they hold us back from our truest potential and from all the happiness that is ours if we will take it.
some people love to gossip even though they know it just leaves them feeling critical and unhappy about others when they are done. (that's me sometimes.)
some people love to binge on tons of junk food in one sitting even though they know they will have to run for 40 miles to work it off, feel sick, and be a big old fatty and look bad in their clothes. (oops, that's also me sometimes.)
some people love to blame everyone else for everything bad in their lives even though they know deep down that we all have it hard in different ways and if they tweaked their attitude a bit they would be a lot happier. (uh oh, me again. crap.)
and others love to feel mistreated when they are in their pajamas at noon, with kids screaming around them because their mothers aren't paying attention to them, in a messy house, feeling punished and oppressed because their husbands are so "free" and get to be at work all day with adults feeling important even though they know their men have it hard at work a lot of the time and there is nothing more rewarding or important than working hard and raising your own child (that's every stay at home mom i know at one time at least in their lives if we are going to be honest.)
you get the idea. i could go on and on. there are so many of these things that make us feel good at the time, a pity party for one or a destructive behavior that we feel entitled to that ultimately keep us from REALLY being happy.
i didn't even think about it that much until i read this book by dr. laura and i would have never picked it up on my own matti so i am singing your praises to the high heavens because just the title alone would send me straight for the nearest barf bag.
and WHY?????
don't i love my wonderful, sweet, hardworking husband more than anyone or anything in this whole wide world????
because i was married so young i think i feel self-conscious about looking too traditional or like i have a 50's housewife mentality. i don't want anyone thinking that i am in any way oppressed because i married young and had children after graduating instead of chasing a career.
and what the hell for? honestly.
it may seem like i am ranting at this point, but i am having a great awakening so bare with me here.
the things that matter most are my husband, my children, and our home.
any idiot can agree that those things matter 100 times more than anything material and that goes for paying off debt or buying a house (because what on earth is the point of buying a house if you can't stay home to raise the children you created in it?).
therefore, i choose to embrace that. more than i ever have before because careers are hollow and you don't take them with you into the next life.
sometimes this book was hard for me to read, but i swallowed it and got through the parts that irritated me (and asked myself why it irritated me which may have been the hardest part of all) and then i used the things i learned and we are already so much happier for it. already.
and i finished the book yesterday. pretty fast results. haha :)
just read it. or continue on and hope for the best. ha! but, do yourself and your family a favor and read it.
i love you and want you to be happy too.
did i say thank you yet matti? thanks. :)
today i am thankful for matti for suggesting this book to me and for a huge dose of clarity!
18 comments:
HA!
maybe i'll humble myself and read it after everyone else has had their turn. heehee.
i think i get irritated because i KNOW that something's true, but i'm not DOING/APPLYING it.
and all those excerpts - i'm guilty of every.single.one. too.
but that's what this life is all about, right? self-improvement, refinement...
oh, and especially the food one - last night i had this nightmare that everyone i knew was pointing their finger at me and calling me fat and i woke up feeling horrible and feeling like i was in desperate need of going on a hunger strike or something.
Guilty of number 4 yesterday . . . I knew what was going on and of course felt horrible that I was feeling horrible about resenting the short leash I'm on these days.
I've heard that book is a good one. I'll put it on my library queue.
Word verification: defier. Seems fitting.
hi!
i stop by your blog every now and again and i just have to say that i love this book.
a friend gave it to me as a bridal shower gift and really, it's amazing. i've recommended it on my blog as well and to others. dr laura sure can be a beast--but she is usually right :)
i've read and re read it a couple times. good pick!
Ah, you are very welcome my dear. I am glad you enjoyed it so much! Your post had me laughing out loud. I'm glad that you read it even though the title made you want to puke. Good for you and thanks for trusting me. I had a feeling you gals might enjoy this book as much as i did...I'm glad this time I was right. I was getting worried I might be kicked out of the book club.
i started reading it last night and only got through the 1st chapter and noticed all the things i could improve on. and yeah, i thought i was doing pretty good before this book.
yes, thanks you matti!!!
oh, and hey, is there one for husbands, too??
there SHOULD be.
i just looked at your resolutions. it looks like you've done awesome this year. and i'm proud of you.
by the way, did we ever tell you our dr. laura story?
gosh, i love how you write and how it always hits the nail right on the head.
can i borrow a copy come jan? thanks ahead of time.
Sounds awesome! I'll definately have to give it a go. I love good book recomends:)... exciting!
i LOVE this book!!! It's a super hard pill to swallow but it is all SO true. If you liked this one, i would suggest reading "fascinating womanhood".
I've heard so much about this book club...is there room or is it an invite only thing?
I loved that book. I love even more to recommend it to people because I love the whole idea of it.
I've never read this one, but my husband and I are reading the proper care and feeding of Marriage together and it is awesome. I really like Dr. Laura's point of view. I think its very in line with many gospel principles as well. See you at sewing tomorrow!
so enlightening. thanks!
preach it sister. preach it.
once I read a quote that said
"two women looked out prison bars. One saw mud, the other saw stars."
It's always stuck with me. Because we can CHOSE to be happy. Or we can CHOSE to be miserable, and in doing so, make every one around us miserable too.
I would read this book. If I had the time. Seriously. When do you get to read??? =)
a
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to everything.
I had the EXACT same feeling for Dr. L, yuck! I hated listening to her talk show, my dad had it o in the car whenever I drove places with him, I was sure he was doing it just to annoy me :). But after skimming through my parent's copy I had a change of heart too.
i read this book in college. very eye-opening. i have always loved dr. laura. good work. glad you tried it :-)
i would also suggest this book for any single girls: 10 stupid things women do to mess up their lives. that was the first dr. L book that got me hooked on her.
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