Well-Read Mom
Learning to See Again Written by Naomi Ringhand We shall not cease from exploration / And the end of all our exploring / Will be to arrive where we started / And know the place for the first time. T.S. Eliot, Little Gidding Some years ago, at a Northern Minnesota parish pancake breakfast (nothing says…
Becoming Well-Read: Entering into the Great Conversation Written by Molly Aranda What does it mean to be a “Well-Read Mom?” When I was first introduced to Well-Read Mom in 2017, I was intimidated by the name. As a latecomer to reading for leisure, I felt that I didn’t qualify as “well-read.” Plato? Nope. Milton? Didn’t…
Rediscovering the Feminine Genius Written by Jody C. Benson About three years ago, while studying Edith Stein, a friend expressed her skepticism about the concept of the “feminine genius.” She asked us very directly, “Do you really think there is a feminine genius?” She has a true God-given gift of leading others to see from…
Reading and the Receptive Capacity of a Woman’s Soul Written by Carolyn Seida “Why do you read novels? Do they change the way you live?” My husband’s question caught me off guard. I don’t remember the answer I gave, but I kept coming back to his question. I was deep into Wuthering Heights, and this…
In June 2025, my dad, a 56-year-old healthy father of eight kids, was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. At the time, I was six months pregnant with our fourth child. My husband had lost his job, gotten a new job, and started a business all within two weeks of my dad’s diagnosis. I was feeling lost and very alone.
After six fast-paced, exciting, and chaotic years of getting married, landing my first teaching job, welcoming two babies, completing my graduate degree, moving to a new town, and beginning a new job, a quietness settled over my life. As I looked around, I realized I had everything I once believed would fill my heart and bring me happiness: a beautiful family, a supportive community, and a job I loved….
When I was a little girl, my favorite summer pastime was to sit underneath the tree that my Grandpa Harry had planted in our backyard and read a book that had been carefully selected from the children’s section of the Bexley Public Library. The sunshine illuminated…
Re-Reading Christy as an adult makes me feel as though I’ve known two Christys, or two versions of the same story.
During the Year of the Teacher, I found that reading with my kids taught me even more than reading with my friends did.
To cap off our Year of the Teacher, we feature a conversation between Marcie Stokman, Colleen Hutt, and Dale Ahlquist, president of the Society of Gilbert Keith Chesterton.