I know that this is an old book, because I remember picking it up from my parents’ bookshelf when I was little, thinking that I had found a modern-day sequel to my beloved Little House series. Well, I was very disappointed with what I found then, which was a book about raising a family in a busy world.
Well, the world is even busier now than it was when I was running around in bloomers and a bonnet, and now that I am actually interesting in raising a family in a busy world, I picked it up again at a friend’s recommendation. I read it all the way through, and I think it was okay. I liked the first couple of chapters where Kimmel set up the problem of busy-ness, describing some of the distractions that prevent families from enjoying a restful and thoughtful lifestyle. I also liked the appendix, titled “101 Ways to Give Rest to Your Family.” It was very practical and specific, which I liked.
The middle of the book was less exciting for me. The subtitle is “Help for the Hurried Home,” and I was hoping to find encouragement and suggestions for family rituals, low-tech activities to make memories, or maybe tips on saying no to the billions of activities that are available to kids and parents. Instead, Kimmel focused on solutions that were more spiritual and internal, like “practice forgiveness,” “live within your means,” and “clarify your calling.” The content was all good and true, but not what I thought I was going to find. I also thought it was a little repetitive; I could have read the table of contents and section headings and been fine.
But the premise of the book–simplifying, slowing down, and focusing on what’s important–is worth thinking about, and I appreciate Kimmel’s starting the discussion. I’m also giving his other books, which are more specifically about parenting, a try, so we’ll see how those go.
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