Stretched Too Thin: How Working Moms Can Lose the Guilt, Work Smarter, and Thrive is Jessica N. Turner’s book specially for working moms. As a single non-mom, I hesitated before reading this book. It wasn’t written for me. Is worth the read? Will most of the content gloss over my head? Should I even bother?
I am so glad I did! In the end, I read it because of three reasons. First, I read Jessica’s Fringe Hours and learned so much. I knew Stretched Too Thin would also be full of inspiration and practical advice. Second, I read a few books geared for parents because I’m in children’s ministry and find them very helpful. I knew that whatever Jessica had to say to working moms would give me ideas on how to better serve the working moms in the ministry. Third, I had a lot of working mom friends and if I can send a helpful book their way, I want to do it. A bonus reason was that I would learn how to thrive as a working mom before I’m even one myself.
What I didn’t expect from Stretched Too Thin was to learn so much about me! Me! A single lady with no kids, unless you count the 30 or so kids I only get for about an hour every Sunday. I’m not a working mom at all, but Stretched Too Thin inspired me and taught me some things. Here are just a few of them.
Chapter 1 is called Evaluating Your Present, and Jessica jumps right into it with guidance on how to evaluate where you’re at at the moment and the importance of being aware where you are, which would help you get to where you want to be. It’s a good exercise for anyone to do
At the end of every chapter, there are reflection questions and space to write your answers. I love those! They help you review the chapter and figure out where you’re at and where you want to go.
Chapter 4 is Practicing Self Care. I’m a big believer in self-care. It’s very important and we could all learn from what Jessica shares about it. In this chapter, Jessica shares a story about her friend that jolted me awake. Her friend went in for a surgery and they discovered she had very low iron levels that caused a heart murmur because of the lack of iron in her blood. She ended up in the hospital for 6 days from heart complications. At the time I was reading this chapter, I was not taking the iron pills as prescribed. Instead of two pills a day, I was taking one maybe every other day. I didn’t like their side effects and didn’t think what I was doing was a big deal. I’m taking them religiously now!
In Chapter 6 Investing In Your Marriage, Jessica talkes about how she and her husband read to each other. I giggled like a schoolgirl and blushed inside Starbucks. It’s such a sweet chapter! As a single person, I hear too many dating and marriage woes. I’m not under any illusion. I know marriage and relationships take work, but it’s a breath of fresh air to hear how romantic and sweet the work can actually be.
Jessica also talks about Parenting Well in Chapter 7, and this chapter feels like a great training ground. It makes me look at myself and imagine how I might parent someday based on my own temperament, upbringing, and how I respond to other people when under stress. That’s what I like about reading books on parenting and marriage. I can take the knowledge in those books and apply it to myself as I relate to the people around me, which helps me grow as a person and prepare me for the future.
Chapter 9 is Cultivating Deep Friendships and Jessica shares about how to find and build community. My introverted nature makes it super easy and comfortable for me to stay aback and wait to be approached. This chapter challenges me to be more proactive in building community with those around me. So a lot of her suggestions made me shiver. Putting myself out there??? I’m an Enneagram 4 with a strong wing 5, the Bohemian that values solitude. Jessica’s an Enneagram 8, a protector and challenger. But she gives such encouraging practical advice that makes community building not just attainable, but enjoyable too.
I can definitely say this book has something for everyone to learn, but much more so for working moms.
Here’s an Amazon affiliate link you can use to buy the book. There is no further cost to you if you buy the book from this link, but it may give me a commission, which is very helpful. Link: https://amzn.to/2QBM5jk (links also included below)
Title: Stretched Too Thin
Author: Jessica N. Turner
Publisher: Revell (September 18, 2018)
If you pre-order the book and register your preorder in their website (www.stretchedtoothinbook.com), you can get two freebies: the audiobook read by Jessica herself and an online course. Don’t miss out!
I received a copy of this book from the publisher, but as always, all opinions are my own and I wouldn’t recommend a book I didn’t like.
