Beyond the Oxford Comma
Written by Felicia Schneiderhan
In the spring of 2024, I helped copy-edit the Well-Read Mom summer magazine. I had heard of the organization but knew little about it. I said yes to the job, not knowing that God had much more planned for me than hunting for Oxford commas and paragraph breaks.
After a week or so, I found that I was really looking forward to the hour each day I set aside to work on the magazine. It was not the punctuation; it was the authenticity of your voices, your unique perceptions, your depth of experience, and the power of the books to transform your lives. What you shared affected your families, colleagues, and communities. It affected me, too, on a very deep level.
By the end of that project, I felt called—not only to be in a Well-Read Mom group but to lead one. This was a big surprise to me. Although I’m a lifelong reader and a professional writer, I have never been in a book club. I’ve never wanted to be in a book club. Your voices drew me in. And, as often happens when we feel called, within a week of saying yes, there was a group of eight women also saying yes. We started in April with Brideshead Revisited and were off and running.
Nearly a year later, we’ve grown. Every time we meet, no matter who is present, the discussion is rich and deep about the book and about our lives. It seems we are all surprised and even awed by how much we receive from the discussions. We pray for one another, and though we didn’t all know each other at the start, we have developed a deep friendship quickly. The relationship is unique because it is based on a shared commitment to reading good literature and walking a spiritual path together. We have become many parts of one body.
For the first few months, I felt very insecure about being a leader. Would I be good enough, smart enough, would people like me? (Notice all the me in those fears.) But Well-Read Mom provides many resources to support the role, and I focused on keeping it simple and being supportive and encouraging. At the fall conference in Milwaukee, I talked with other groups and learned from their experience.
Most importantly, I pray. I pray for each woman in the group and to be of service to them. It is humbling to be among this beautiful group of women and the people they touch. I now see that, like many opportunities God gives us, the role of the group leader is much smaller than I thought it would be, and so much bigger than I could have hoped. I receive far more than I imagined possible. Some of it comforting, and a lot of it discomforting, in the way only God can lead us. But I know I do not walk this path alone.
About Felicia Schneiderhan
Felicia Schneiderhan is a writer, teacher, editor, and mom to three tsunamis on the North Shore of Lake Superior. She’s recently discovered how much she loves cold water swimming. Read more of her work at www.felicia schneiderhan.com.
About Well-Read Mom
In Well-Read Mom, women read more and read well. Our hope is to deepen the awareness of meaning hidden in each woman’s daily life, elevate the cultural conversation, and revitalize reading literature from books. If you would like to have us help you select worthy reading material, we invite you to join and read along with us. We are better together! For information on how to start or join a Well-Read Mom group visit our website wellreadmom.com
