Year of the Giver

Books along with a flower pot kept on a table

Beauty Within Virtuous Relationships

By Well-Read Mom / February 21, 2023 / Comments Off on Beauty Within Virtuous Relationships

There is great beauty in Willa Cather’s Death Comes for the Archbishop:

The striking landscape of the Southwest

The culture of the native peoples

The devotions of the Catholics and the relationships between the characters

This last, specifically, the relationship between Bishop Latour and his dear friend Father Vaillant, struck me as the most profound part of this boo

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Books along with a plant pot kept on a table

How Reading Literature Benefits Leaders

By Well-Read Mom / February 1, 2023 / Comments Off on How Reading Literature Benefits Leaders

How Reading Literature Benefits Leaders By Marcie Stokman, Well-Read Mom Founder and President “I never set out to run a business; Well-Read Mom is a ministry to help women, including myself, read literature.” I let Matt know that running a business was not my original intention. He countered, “If you’re serious about helping women read…

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Close up shot of books on a table along with plant leaves

Thou Mayest

By Well-Read Mom / January 25, 2023 / Comments Off on Thou Mayest

Three years ago, I decided enough time had passed, and I would do something entirely for myself. I was going to go after something I had wanted for five years. I yearned to join my friend’s Well-Read Mom group. It wasn’t an easy decision. I am a mom of many, and I have a keen awareness of time, a sensitivity toward being present to those around me, and the need to be intentional with my own time. Also, I become consumed when reading a book and usually dive so deeply beneath the surface that I barely come up for breath. So, it feels (dare I say it) selfish to read. Plus, free time is precious. But as we know, discerning when to do something or not do something comes with much thought and preparation.

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Books along with a plant in a cup kept on a sofa

The Beauty of a Difficult Read: A Reflection on East of Eden

By Well-Read Mom / January 18, 2023 / Comments Off on The Beauty of a Difficult Read: A Reflection on East of Eden

My intention is not to cover every difficult aspect of this book but to offer a few insights that might prove helpful. Each woman has the power to discern her comfort level when it comes to reading. Every book might not be for every person. That is okay! But this is a worthy read, and I hope to illuminate why we chose it.

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a stack of seven books on the table

Reading in a Large Family

By Well-Read Mom / January 6, 2023 / Comments Off on Reading in a Large Family

As nearly any mother will tell you, a mother’s life is certainly not easy. It’s filled with errands to run, chores to complete, emergencies to address, unforeseen “disasters” to navigate, and people to comfort, assist, and love through our words, but most discernibly through our actions of continual service. Even when our children move away from home, and we are no longer wading through toys or tackling mountains of laundry, we still offer loving assistance and care. From traveling to college games and events, answering late-night phone calls, and watching grandchildren, we make our support readily available. And this life of heroic motherly action often prompts us to frenzy: we forget the significance of rest, prayer, contemplation, and meditation in favor of accomplishing tasks—many of which are undoubtedly important—and adopting the mindset that only action is of merit.

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Journeys Through Bookland Eleven Books

The Gift of Story Reveals The Giver

By Well-Read Mom / December 29, 2022 / Comments Off on The Gift of Story Reveals The Giver

To incorporate my family even more into my WRM reading life, I invited my nine-year-old son to have a mother-son book club about the WRM Family Supplement’s November selection: The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict.

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a stack of four books and a plant

The Ripple Effects of Reading

By Well-Read Mom / November 3, 2022 / Comments Off on The Ripple Effects of Reading

Human beings were made for stories. From our earliest moments, nestled in the comforting arms of our family members, we delight in the telling of age-old fairytales and silly rhymes. We are fascinated by retellings of our birth, how our parents met, and other family lore. We gravitate toward stories, whether expressed through written word, through a movie screen, or within the lyrics of a song. We enjoy hearing the entertaining anecdotes of friends and recounting moments from our past. We empathize with each other through the sharing of our life experiences.

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An open book amidst natural surroundings

Transformative Love

By Well-Read Mom / September 6, 2022 / Comments Off on Transformative Love

While I’d venture to guess that most Well-Read Moms had previously read Anne of Green Gables but were new to The Violent Bear It Away, I am just the opposite. As a huge Flannery O’Connor fan who, like Flannery, read nothing but “slop with a capital S” as a child, I’d yet to experience Anne of Green Gables until it appeared on the list for the Year of the Family. As I read it aloud to my four sons, I couldn’t help but make connections between the two.

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