Our Mommyhood

Posts Tagged ‘Book Review’

By Working Mommy

“Our Mommyhood” does not endorse any politicians, candidates for political office, or their views. This article and giveaway is the sole, expressed opinion of its author.

Who doesn’t like a little controversy in life??

Oh…you don’t??

Well, its a good thing you aren’t Sarah Palin then!!

Sarah Palin is one person who is definitely not a stranger to controversy. From the minute she was announced as the VP running mate of Republican presidential nominee John McCain, she had a HUGE target on her back. She is a soccer mom to five children, the devoted wife to a blue-collar working man, the former chief executive of America’s largest state and, above all, she is a woman.

Few people know that Sarah Palin was born on February 11, 1964 (a fellow Aquarian!) to a science teacher and a school secretary. The third of four siblings, it is no surprise that Sarah and her husband chose to have a large family. Her memoir, “Going Rogue: An American Life” is one of the best books I have read in a long time. It quickly topped the New York Times #1 bestseller list and, if Wikipedia is correct, is one of only four political memoirs to have sold over one million copies.

Now, to the novel…I think that the titles of these chapters really express Sarah Palin’s personality – even if she didn’t mean it that way! Her first chapter, “The Last Frontier,” goes into great detail regarding her life. From her humble beginnings to her marriage to her pregnancies, Palin does an excellent job of showing that she is only human. She definitely does not see herself as above the “common” man, but rather as a member of the working-class – which is a breath of fresh air when it comes to reading about any politico. I don’t need to hear about your Porsche, but would much rather hear how you overcame your difficult pregnancy as a young mother.

Without getting into a chapter-by-chapter breakdown of things…I decided to pull out my favorite passage in the book!! Please be advised, I am not trying to push my political views onto any of you…I am merely giving you a small taste of what this book has to offer!

“The boots on the ground at boot camp graduations on every base paint the picture of what is right in America. Left, right, one step at a time, it is straight ahead for those who, it can only be assumed, have a special quality that gives them a sense of honor and selfless duty. What else explains their choice, amidst so many other possibilities, to serve in the U.S. military?

“I recalled Senator John Kerry’s comment to California college students in 2006: ‘You know, education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework, and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. And if you don’t, you get stuck in Iraq.’

“What a loon, I thought. What an elitist loon.

“Now I was in a position to know firsthand what I had always implicitly hoped: the kids enlisting are smart and observant and have made the most of the opportunities America has given them. So they chose to put other desires and ambitions aside for a while to protect our opportunities. I know it because my son and his buddies were part of a culture that enjoys comfortable luxuries and choices, boys who knew that once they graduated high school the world was their oyster. And here they chose to make sacrifices and give up luxury and comfort. They have within them a willingness and drive to fight for freedom, the absence of which they do not even know…”

Whether or not your fall into the GOP – whether or not you share Palin’s views on the military – and whether or not you agree with the choices Palin has made professionally – we can all respect the fact that Sarah Palin is a woman’s woman. She gets up early in the morning to make it into the office, runs around like a headless chicken and still makes it home n time to put dinner on the table for her huge family!!

**GIVEAWAY!**

Working Mommy has TWO copies of “Going Rogue” to give away on Our Mommyhood. Here’s how to enter:

1) Leave a comment, telling us why you like Sarah Palin, or why you don’t like her

2) Follow Our Mommyhood on Google Friend Connect

3) Grab the Our Mommyhood button and add it to your blog’s home page

Please leave a separate comment for each entry, or it will not count!

This giveaway will end at 11:59pm on Thursday, May 13th. Two winners will be selected using Random.org; they will be announced on Friday the 14th. Sorry, U.S. residents only.

Think life has handed you some lessons? Just wait until you hear what Working Mommy has to say! You can read her personal blog over at Lessons Learned!