Excerpted from The Brave Art of Motherhood: Fight Fear, Gain Confidence, and Find Yourself Again. Copyright © 2018 by Rachel Marie Martin. Used by permission of WaterBrook, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC.
Over the past five years, I’ve lived what I’ve jokingly called a public private life. As you’ll read in my book, living the private spaces of my life in a public forum was antithetical to the “me” of most of my life.
But going through great changes and having others see and read about the progress has resulted in some very common questions:
- How in the world did you change your life?
- What steps did you take?
- How did you manage change and being a mom?
- How did you discover happiness?
- Where did you get the bravery?
As a result, in the book process, I’ve spent a good year examining my past seven years. I didn’t let any nuance sit by the wayside but rather dug deep into the details—the emotions, results, choices, and mindsets that led to me reclaiming my life. I mapped my world—the inner and outer struggles as well as the times of failing and success. Those details? That’s what this book is about. But I need you to know from the start that this book is not a linear, chronological story of my progression from poverty to my life today. Instead, it is about the mental determination, the process, the challenges, and the how behind great change. It’s your guide and the answers to those common questions. You will discover the agreements you’ve made about yourself, the excuses you give, and why your reality is what it is. But it doesn’t have to be what it is. If you dare, if you decide to walk this path, to disrupt patterns that keep you stuck, all while in the midst of motherhood, I can guarantee you that your future will be different.
That is the brave art of motherhood.
Read a sneak peek of chapter one of The Brave Art of Motherhood. And if you’re a MOPS Member, go to the Member Site to read Chapter 2. Not a Member and want to learn more? Check us out.
Rachel Marie Martin, having pulled herself up from poverty to being named one of Inc. magazine’s top 40 entrepreneurs, has been writing Finding Joy full time for several years and writing online for over a decade. Her top blog post, “Why Being a Mom is Enough” has surpassed 1.9 million shares, and she has had her articles translated into over 25 languages. Her articles have been featured in The Huffington Post, iVillage, The Today Show, Scary Mommy, The Deseret, Star Tribune, PopSugar, Parents, What to Expect, Dr. Greene and many more.
