Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Book Review: Say Goodbye to Survival Mode

Do you ever feel like you are in survival mode? I know I do--more often than I'd like to admit.  Between cooking, cleaning, homeschooling, running errands, laundry, and the other multitude of little things that make up a mom's life, sometimes I feel like I'm constantly running around putting out fires, instead of making any real progress.  Lots of things get done every day, but nothing actually stays done--know what I mean?  And then there's all the time I waste on any given day . . .  Some days I feel so productive and like I'm really on top of things.  Other days . . . well, yesterday for example . . . I never got a shower till afternoon.  Just keeping it real here! :)

Anyway, since you can see that I'm no stranger to that overwhelmed, survival mode feeling, you can imagine how excited I was to have the opportunity to read a pre-release copy of Say Goodbye to Survival Mode.  In this book, Crystal Paine shares her own very personal story of being overwhelmed and stressed with too many things to juggle, and how she was able to come from that point, to living with purpose and intention.

Say Goodbye to Survival Mode is filled with helpful encouragement for all of us overwhelmed women (and I know there are lots of us out there!)--from chapters like "Say Yes to the Best" and extremely practical tips on goal-setting (one of my favorite chapters!) to advice on home management and budgeting (of course, a book by Money Saving Mom must include at least a bit of that--and I'm glad it does!), to reminders that self-care is indeed important, with practical tips on how to "recharge" . . . this is one refreshing book from start to finish.

As I said a couple years ago when I reviewed Crystal's first book, one of the things I love about her writing is that she is so encouraging.  I never feel "talked down to" or like she's a woman who has everything together (even though I do think she is a lot more organized than me!) . . . she writes like someone who is a friend, cheering you on step by step.  She is also extremely practical.  In fact, every chapter in this book ends with a section called "Get Practical," where you find questions and tips to help you evaluate things you may need to change.  Crystal is all about little changes and baby steps that add up to big changes over time--and I appreciate that.  I am the type of person to get overwhelmed by the big picture--it works much better for me to set a big goal and then break it down into smaller goals, as she suggests.

While Crystal is a young mom in the same stage of life as me, I believe her book will be helpful to more than just young moms.  It's full of practical advice for any woman, of any age--it's not just those of us with young kids who get stuck in survival mode!  Every chapter in this book was excellent, but one of my favorites was the one on self-care.  Now let me clarify something real quickly: one of the messages we hear from the world is that self-care is of utmost importance--sometimes even to the detriment of our families.  "Me time" has gotten kind of a bad rap in Christian circles because of this.  As a Christian, I do believe that my family is my priority and I love being able to serve them.  But, I also believe that we need to take care of ourselves so that we can give our best to our families.  And this is what chapter 9, "Sometimes It Is About You" is all about.  The very first point in this chapter is "Plug Into God and His Word."  YES.  I loved these quotes:
"So much of the time, our exhaustion and burnout are the result of not being plugged in.  We think we're capable of handling life without constantly renewing our power supply." (p. 201)
"You have to feed your soul before you can be a great leader, owner of a company, daughter, sister, wife, friend, boss, manager, or mother.  You may think you do not have time to feed yourself spiritually, but I assure you that you cannot afford not to." (p. 204) 
She goes on to talk about plugging into your marriage, friendships, taking time to rest and refresh . . . even reading more! . . . these are all ways we can care for ourselves so that we can better care for others.

Say Goodbye to Survival Mode releases today.  It's available in hardcover or for Kindle on Amazon, or you can find a copy in your local bookstore!  Personally, I'd recommend getting a hard copy of this book, since there are spaces in it for writing things down, and lots of things I would like to underline!  My copy is on my Kindle, but I do hope to get a hard copy as soon as possible.

Congratulations to Crystal on a job well done with this book.  I highly recommend it! And if you're not already a regular Money Saving Mom reader, you should head over there this week because she will be having some great giveaways to celebrate the book release!

*I received a free copy of this book for my Kindle, as part of the Say Goodbye to Survival Mode launch team.  All opinions expressed are my own.

**This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

4 comments:

Mrs.T said...

This looks excellent! I will have to look into getting a copy. I'm not a young mom, but I have a lot to juggle, and my word for 2014 is "balance", so I think I could definitely benefit from this. Thanks for the detailed review!

Carrie said...

Yes, I think you would find it helpful!! Hope you can get one soon! :)

Kathleen said...

I'm excited to get my copy and start reading!!!! :-) Thanks for the review!!!!

Carrie said...

Yay, I'm so happy you're getting one! I think you will love it! :)