Posts by Well-Read Mom

What are the Criteria for a Well-Read Mom Book Selection Life is busy!  For many women, mothers, in particular, personal reading is often viewed as a luxury that gets sacrificed to the busyness of daily life. So when we do make time to read, we want to be sure that we are participating in something good…

THE JOY IN THE HEART OF THE MOTHER OF A RELIGIOUS SISTER by Ana Braga-Henebry Ana is originally from Rio, Brazil, and has a M.A. in Humanities/Aesthetic Studies. She teaches Latin in parochial schools. Ana and her husband Geoffrey, a scientist and professor, raised seven children. Their sixth child is a Norbertine sister in CA.…

January 14, 2021Year of the Sister As part of the annual New York Encounter cultural event several years ago, Well-Read Mom arranged a reading of selected letters from C. S. Lewis’s book, The Screwtape Letters. This book is made up of a series of fictional advice letters from a senior demon to his young nephew, who has…

January 7, 2021Year of the Sister How many times have I made my list of resolutions with some gusto on New Year’s day, only to forget what they were by the end of the month?  Good intentions are not enough.  They need to transition into a plan. Benjamin Franklin once said, “If you fail to plan,…

December 31, 2020Year of the Sister The beautiful chaos of the Christmas season should be mostly over. Now is the time to sit back and relax in the glow of the tree lights while soaking in the refreshing peace that comes from enjoying a good book. The ground here in Minnesota is covered with a…

December 17, 2020Year of the Sister We may wince at the prospect of growing in humility—but we so enjoy the company of humble persons. Isn’t this one of the reasons why St. Teresa of Avila is so delightful? She has no pretenses and disarms the reader with her simplicity and candor. She may have been…

Pssst…I have a little secret. By Nicole Bugnack I have a little secret. I don’t particularly like reading Well-Read Mom’s spiritual reads.  You see, I find reading them incredibly difficult. I desire to have read them (note the past tense), but the amount of discipline it takes to immerse myself in these books is challenging.…

April 14, 2020Year of the Artist   RETURN OF THE PRODIGAL SON BY REMBRANDT      Does art have a message for the onlooker? Does it have a goal or a possible meaning behind it for the observer? Artist Francis Bacon stated “The job of the artist is always to deepen the mystery.”  In Henri Nouwen’s…

February 7, 2020Year of the Artist Here is a link to the original article. As an avid reader, I’ve always felt both curious and suspicious of book clubs. The idea of getting together with other book lovers and discussing our mutual interest was intriguing, but that would require me to read a book chosen by…

November 11, 2019Year of the Artist As I showed my young son the animated film of Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas last December — a childhood favorite of mine featuring the splendid narration of Boris Karloff — I came to the disturbing realization that our most memorable Christmas poetry in the English language…