Book Review: Maxed Out by Katrina Alcorn
When you take care of kids, you have to take care of their parents too
One of my dreams for this blog has always been to do regular book reviews, particularly on health books (so you can get my viewpoint on them) and then books that I think can help you live a better, healthier, longer, happier life! It’s tempting to say, “I will read 4 books a year and do quarterly book reviews”, because I want to do it so badly, but I have to be super careful about giving myself blog agendas. I don’t want anything on here to feel forced. What I do want this website to be is a source of inspiration to live a healthier life (on your insides too, that’s why I share my life stories). When things get forced on my end, and I don’t feel inspired writing them, then perhaps you would pick up on that energy.
When I read a book that could help you live a better life, I want you to know about it.
Maxed Out is one of those books.
A few months ago, I was randomly strolling through the library aisles with my girls. I saw this book on display at the end of the aisle. It immediately caught my attention, so I checked it out. After I started reading it, I couldn’t put it down — and this is rare for me. It’s very easy for me to stop reading a book. I lose interest fast. I’m still working through Owen Meany (in the middle), which I started last fall.
I picked up this book at a time when I felt maxed out. Being a working mom is hard, hard work, and even harder when your work environment has no idea what it’s like to be a working mom. I couldn’t put her book down because I felt like she was naming so much of my story and calling out the issues that feel so familiar to me as a working mom — one thing she talked about was how hard it was on the entire system when one of her kids got sick. So, she avoided playdates with sick kids, gave her kids vitamins to keep them healthy, and basically went above and beyond to prevent illness in her kids. I COULD TOTALLY RELATE.
This is partly why I am starting my own practice — I get to create the work environment, hours, and systems that will not just support me as a physician but will also support me as a working parent.
One interesting thing Alcorn pointed out was that we are always so vigilantly worried about the well being of our kids. We fear that we messed them up. But, the well being of the parents does indeed affect the well being of the kids.
If you want your kids to be well, then you need to do what you need to do to be well.
This book really gives an accurate picture of the craziness of working mom-hood. If you’re a maxed out mom, someone who works with moms, or a stay at home mom trying to better understand your working mom friends — this book is a must read.
One of my favorite quotes from the book:
“Mommy Guilt is like herpes. You never really get rid of it.”
Enjoy More Archerfriendliness
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