I have just recently finished reading two very interesting books about having happy and healthy family relationships. Neither one was your typical parenting manual, and I really liked them because of that. They give fresh, original insights, which changed a lot about how I see family life and how it’s supposed to be.
For this giveaway, Fully Booked has partnered with C&V and I’m giving away copies of these books to three lucky readers this week! (Yey!) Simply read what I have to say about each book below and then follow the giveaway mechanics written at the end of the post.
The Secrets of Happy Families: Improve Your Mornings Rethink Family Dinner, Fight Smarter, Go Out and Play and Much More by Bruce Feiler
We all want to have a happy and fulfilled family. And sometimes, we hope someone would tell us just how. A similar desire drove, New York Times Bestselling Author, Bruce Feiler to set out on a three year journey in search of the “smartest solutions and most cutting-edge research about families.”
The systems and practices Feiler included in his book, The Secrets of Happy Families, are not all new techniques. In fact, some of them are things people have been doing since the beginning of time. Things like regular family dinners and involving grandparents in children’s lives. Others are practices not even originally designed for family application such as agile development, composing a manifesto, and principled negotiation. But they have been adapted and adjusted to work for the home setting. It’s interesting to learn the history behind these ideas and how they hold the ability to effect favorable change in a family.
This book has about two hundred different solutions but it speaks fervently about adaptability and openness to change, which is something I believe all families will greatly benefit from. It suggests, through research and real life experience, that there are countless ways for families to achieve happiness, one only has to be courageous enough to take risks, evolve and keep working for it.
You Are Not Special and other Encouragements by David McCullough Jr
In 2012, David McCullough, an English Literature professor and father of four, gave a 12-minute commencement speech in Wellesley High, Massachusetts. Little did he know it would become so popular. Two years later, he writes a book expounding on his stirring message: You Are Not Special and Other Encouragements.
McCullough tackles serious issues teenagers go through and attempts to flesh out the reasons why they struggle, why they seem lost. He urges kids to embrace imperfection and not be afraid to fail, to go school to learn for oneself and not because he is expected to. He addresses the way parents — in their attempt to ensure their children’s success, — coddle the kids and fail to let them soar on their own wings, therefore robbing them of the chance to figure life out for themselves and develop into strong, independent adults. He talks about how one ought to evolve, grow, and improve at every stage of life because we all get only one chance at it.
You Are Not Special is sincere and enlightening. It will make you laugh at the idiosyncrasies of being young and clueless but it will also make your heart weep with hunger for a more passionate and deliberately lived life. It will help you understand your children more and spell out how you can save them by letting them be, because in truth, to tell them that they are special or extraordinary may be last thing that they need to hear.
The Secrets of Happy Families: Improve Your Mornings Rethink Family Dinner, Fight Smarter, Go Out and Play and Much More and You Are Not Special and Other Encouragements are available in Fully Booked.
BOOK GIVEAWAY MECHANICS:
I’ll be giving away two (2) copies of The Secrets of Happy Families and one (1) copy of You Are Not Special and Other Encouragements. I have made it very simple to join. All you have to do is submit a comment on this blog post or on my Instagram/Facebook posts with your answer to this question: In one sentence, what’s the most important lesson having or being in a family has taught you?
That’s it! I will choose the three best answers from all social media platforms and announce the winners on Mar 2, Monday.
Disclosure: Though Veronica was not compensated monetarily for this review, she is a director at HoneycombCommunites which works closely with Fully Booked’s marketing efforts. Fully Booked provided both the books for review and for the give-away.
The most important thing I learned about having a family of my own is how you have to fuel yourself with love before you can nurture others. I’ve experienced just giving and giving, which I thought was noble and correct, but over time learned that I have to love myself first. How can I take good care of my family if I couldn’t take good care of myself? I may be a Mom and a wife but I’m also ME. It took many years before I learned that, but it’s worth it. 🙂
Having my own family has taught me a lot of things but the most important thing that I learned is Self-ACCEPTANCE. From being single for 30 yrs of my life to being a wife and suddenly a MOM! My world started moving 360 degrees. Everything was new to me and I was clueless on how to handle everything at the same time, until I was able to accept that my life is really different now and my responsibilities are much wider. I learned to accept that it’s okay to make mistakes for it will eventually teach you to improve your life and it will help to make your family strong.
Never, Never, Ever sacrifice your family!
The most important lesson that I have learned in having my own family is to free myself from any anger and hatred so that I can embrace and learn more the true meaning of unconditional love. Having my own family I learned how to express love and the importance of open communication with the whole family 🙂
Being in a family & having a family of my own not only taught me the importance of communication but to respect each other’s unique individuality as well.
Having my own family taught me that it’s more important and effective to show your values through your actions rather than talking about it when teaching them to your child.
Hello Nica!(:
I believe the most important lesson I’ve learned in having my own family is how to LOVE. It may sound cliche. But we all know that everything starts from LOVE. If we learn how to love, then we learn how to care. Since I love my kids so much, I’ve become more responsible with my decisions and choices. Since I love my husband, I learned how to respect his “me” time and how I can better serve him.
Above all, I was able to appreciate and love MYSELF even more.(:
other people may leave you, but your family would stay
Having my own family has taught me to always see things as half glass full rather than half glass empty. There are days when I struggle to breastfeed and attend to my needs as a wife, mother, businesswoman but I always fill my mind and heart with gratitude cause I am living the life that I want – three closely spaced kids, businesses which I can run at my own phase and time, a man who is not just a husband to me but a friend, too.
Hey Nica, I rarely join contests but this just brings good vibes (and appreciate my family more) after posting my answer on IG then reading some of the entries. Sharing here my IG entry which I proved further after having and losing my first child: YOU NEVER RUN OUT OF LOVE TO GIVE, THERE’S ALWAYS MORE TO GIVE.
:), Katz
I’m sorry to hear that, Katz. I think we are naturally built to just keep producing love. The stuff we go through can be very difficult to understand sometimes and it’s up to us if it’ll make us hate or love. It’s really touching that you’re sharing this. Thank you so much for joining the contest 🙂 Good luck! 🙂