Nourished by Becky Johnson and Rachel Randolph

With humor, honesty and faith, Becky Johnson and her daughter Rachel Randolph determine to tackle the stuff that is stressing them out, once and for all. From interviews with friends and lots of research, they came up with The Ten Most Common Stressors That Mess with a Woman’s Mind: daily challenges that routinely steal her sense of peace and joy. Together Becky and Rachel cook up a plan to live a less depleted and more nourished life. Opposites in many ways, mom and daughter share their successes and failures as they make peace with their imperfect bodies, create living spaces they love, get wiser in their relationships, tame jam-packed schedules, settle into God’s love, and more. In short, they stumble and journey together toward a life that better nourishes them – body, mind, soul and spirit.

My Review:

Okay, ladies, have you ever felt yourself wondering if this is all there is to life?  Between jobs, housework, errands, kids and catering to everyone's needs but your own, you feel stressed, frustrated and ready to call it quits.  You long to feel refreshed, revived and renewed, but peace and joy seem to be on non-speaking terms with you.  If this describes you, I urge you to grab a copy of Nourished.  With delightful charm and witty anecdotes, this mother-daughter team flings open the door to life's major stressors and provides helpful hints on how to enjoy, rather than endure, life's journey.

Even though I did not agree with everything in the book (particularly some of the suggested reading material and the numerous references to alcohol consumption), I walked away from this guide with innovative ideas on how to organize my home one step at a time, how to learn to love myself again (jiggles, gray hairs and all), how to weed through and revamp existing relationships plus make new ones and most importantly, how to nourish my mind and soul.  While many of the ideas implemented a "common-sense approach," I found myself looking at some and saying, "That's so simple.  Why didn't I think of that?"

Overall, each chapter gave me a new zeal for life and motivated me to make the necessary changes to better nourish my mind and body.  After reading Nourished, I feel compelled to look at life in a new way.  No longer do I choose to see life with the frame of mind of "Is this all there is?"  But rather, I long to meet each new day with the question, "What wonderful things do you have for me to accomplish today, Lord?"  And with these suggestions as a guide, I finally feel like I have a fighting chance!

The Giveaway:

You probably know how this works by now, but just in case, here we go.  If you would like to win a free copy of Nourished, please send me an e-mail at Dana@DanaRongione.com.  Be sure to include your full name and mailing address.  A winner will be chosen at random next Wednesday, 2-4-15.