By Jamie Maletta
Unfudge Yourself: A Parent’s Guide to Happiness is just that. Geared towards mamas, this book was a perfect and quick read that put a lot of common situations many of us face as mothers into perspective—an “outside-of-the-box-looking-in” kind of view.
When you’re in the trenches of motherhood, everything can feel overwhelming. From what to feed your kids, to what to feed yourself if you get a second to do so, how to arrive anywhere on time, how to keep the house clean, your marriage/relationship alive, all while attempting to resemble a semi-functioning human. (I’m still working on that last one.) We put so many things on the backburner in order to function on the day to day that everyone inevitably begins to suffer the consequences. The biggest question is: how do we balance it all and live a happy and fulfilled life?
Linsey Nogueira Flannery is a mother of two who has asked herself the very same kinds of questions. Sharing many (hilarious) personal and relatable stories and some tips and suggestions for balancing it all, Linsey offers what just might be the refreshing perspective you’ve been looking for. The book is funny, relatable, encouraging, and practical, and each chapter ends with a small “homework” task in relation to the topic that’s being covered. It was a great way to reflect and review some habits that I just don’t love, with the tools and positive encouragement to do so. I found myself truly engaged in the topics and really enjoyed what the overall book had to offer.
Clearly, I loved the book! I felt so refreshed and motivated having read it, and I’m so happy to have come across this one! I think there are seasons of motherhood where we lose ourselves, function on autopilot, and just manage to get by. I also believe that this phenomenon is very common—we just don’t talk about it. We binge the highlight reels of Instagram, the bright and cheerful gentle-parenting TikTok videos and find ourselves feeling like we’re coming up short. To know someone’s life in an Instagram-worthy picture, or minute-long video is impossible, and I can guarantee we’re all experiencing some (if not all) of what Linsey Nogueira Flannery is talking about. I think it’s worth the read, whether you’re struggling or feel like you have this wonderful, chaotic, messy yet beautiful thing called motherhood down. We can all use a healthy dose of self-reflection and checking in with ourselves from time to time is such a great habit to form! Add Unfudge Yourself to your TBR pile today and see for yourself what a little self-care can do!