Finding Hope in Tragedy: Lessons from Virgil’s Aeneid

Woman reading book in scenic mountain setting.

I was hardly surprised to find a class on Virgil’s The Aeneid as a core requirement for the degree. Yet, I must admit that I approached the epic with some level of hesitancy. In my mind, it was one thing to study Plato and Aristotle, yet Virgil and Homer?  The looming question was always, what could one hope to gain by studying them? Should a Christian even read pagan classics? The answer is obvious when considered in light of their historical and, arguably, eschatological significance.

Read More

To Seek and To Know the Place for the First Time

Hand holding T.S. Eliot's "Four Quartets" book.

To Seek and To Know the Place for the First Time Written by Lucile Foley When we began this Year of the Seeker, I was in the midst of an intense period that felt like the climax to years of searching. What did I seek? Healing. A return of our fertility. In these years of…

Read More

Erudite

Flowers, books, and a candle on table.

I first learned about Well-Read Mom after our family moved from Florida to Georgia, and I was looking to meet new people. A dear friend invited me to join her evening group. The structure and rigor of the book selections fed my love for literature. Unfortunately, evening book club meetings were not sustainable for our growing family. I tried reading on my own, but it wasn’t the same. If I wanted a book club that fit my family’s needs, I would need to start my own chapter.

Read More

Pax Revisited

Candle, notebook, and pen on wooden tray.

I realized that I was, in fact, trying to protect my children. This is a natural response, and it is largely our responsibility to do so. But it’s also our responsibility to equip our children, especially as they get older.

Read More

Mina and Mattie: Examples of Femininity

Bookshelf with books, plant, and religious icon.

I am due with a new little one any day now (prayers appreciated!), and the very clear reality of labor and birth is looming over me pretty much non-stop. While I must admit that I am battling some fear, I am also incredibly aware of my posture in front of this reality. This baby is coming, and only I can walk the road before me. It is a task that I have been given, and I must either grudgingly accept or gratefully receive. Both of these options are open to me, but it seems that there is one that offers more freedom. Freedom for me is in the active surrender of saying yes. 

Read More

Seeking to See the Gift

Book surrounded by potted plants on windowsill.

“Everything is gift.” The theme of last year’s Well-Read Mom conference for the Year of the Giver seemed perfect. The idea sounds so beautiful. And yet still, I sometimes wonder, is everything a gift?

Read More

Home: A Reflection on Seeking Amid Family and Motherhood

Plant, books, and candle on wooden surface.

Listening to my husband read aloud “Two Old Men” to me and our children was one of my sweetest memories of 2022. And this introduction to Tolstoy led me to read Anna Karenina, my favorite book of 2023. This story of two old men, with all its beautiful lessons about pilgrimage, true worship, hospitality, and corporal works of mercy, seemed to me a story about motherhood and being a stay-at-home mom.

Read More