Maw Books

Maw Books – book reviews, book recommendations, book lists, author interviews and more!

I read I Am a Mother by Jane Clayson Johnsonas a part of my neighborhood book club. I thought that this book was written for a national audience but I was soon mistaken and discovered that I Am a Mother is written for the LDS market. I would have rather that she written the book from a different approach and left out the quotes from LDS church leaders and scriptures and instead written it for ALL mothers, regardless of faith. I say this, because I think that her message is SO important and more would benefit from receiving her message. Especially since she is in a high profile position to do so.

But alas, if you’re not LDS, why would you be reading this one? But if you are, this is a quick fast read that serves us up some great reminders. So let me pass on some of my thoughts about this book in my meager attempt to share some of the things I learned.

Jane Clayson Johnson is former co-host of The Early Show on CBS and a network correspondent for The CBS Evening News and 48 Hours. In addition, she covered national and international stories for World News Tonight with Peter Jennings and Good Morning America. In other words, Jane Clayson Johnson was very a high profile journalist when she decided to leave it all behind. Why? For what? For a better paying job? For a more high profile job? For wealth? For prestige? No. Jane Clayson Johnson decided to embark on another career path. That of a mother. Now, it’s spit up, diaper changes, messes, temper tantrums, food on the floor, and more. And if you’re a mom, you can add another thousand things to that “more.”

In this review, I’m mostly going to share with you some great quotes from I Am a Mother.

Jane describes a dinner that she attended where women stood up and introduced themselves as “Oh, I’m just a mom,” and “I don’t have any credentials; I’m just raising our six children,” or “My life’s not very exciting right now; I’m just a stay -at-home mom,” and “I don’t have much to offer here. I’m just a mother.”

She goes on to say,

We hears some variation of the phrase ‘I’m just a mother’ repeated, almost apologetically, over and over again.

Their words surprised me. I had recently given birth to my first child, and I was on top of the world . . . I wanted to shout from the rooftops, ‘I am a mother! I am a mother!’

She says that when she left her television career many of her colleagues said that she would be finished, she could never back her way back, and that without her job there is no meaning to life, and “why don’t you just get a nanny?”

Jane Clayson Johnson then goes to say,

What I have since learned is that God’s definition of motherhood and the world’s definition are vastly different. And sometimes – probably all too often – the challenges, daily physical and emotional exhaustion, and occasional self-doubt that come along with being a mother cause many of us to buy into an inaccurate and destructive understanding of our role. There just doesn’t seem to be a lot of joy – or fulfillment – associated with the world’s interpretation of motherhood.

Maria Shriver, the wife of California Governor Arnold Schwarzennegger also said,

How do we get women to stop saying, ‘I’m just a mother.’ Or, ‘I used to be such and such, but now I’m just a mother?’

Even Oprah Winfrey (I know, I know, don’t leave me comments saying Oprah’s not a mom, I know) has said,

In our society, we give motherhood plenty of lip service. We pat moms on the head, bring them flowers on Mother’s Day, and honor them before crowds. But at the end of the day, we don’t extend them the same respect we would a professor, a dentist, an accountant, or a judge . . . to play down mothering as small is to crack the very foundation on which greatness stands. . . We should no longer allow a mother to be defined as ‘just a mom.’ It is on her back that great nations are built.

Jane Clayson Johnson says about the menial tasks of motherhood:

The sanctity of motherhood can be hard to appreciate when you spend endless hours making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, singing along with Elmo, helping crate elaborate science projects, or enforcing late-night curfews. Many in the world will shout that motherhood is full of small, mundane tasks. And certainly, if you look only on the surface, this is true. But underneath all of the secondary things mothers do – cook, clean, read, chauffeur, nurse and so on – is a mothers real occupation and I believe, the defintion of true success.

Webster defines occupation as ‘the principal business of one’s life.’ The principle business of a mother’s life is loving and nurturing her children; it is teaching them, by example, how to pass on that love and thereby strengthening the world around them.

I appreciated all of the messages that were shared in this book. I loved my job, but when I discovered that I was expecting my first child, I decided that I wanted to stay at home and take care of my children. It was a hard transition. I literally worked up to the day that I delivered (I’m just glad my water broke while at home that evening and not at work earlier that day).

Not only did I leave my job (which I loved) but we also moved at the same time, leaving me with no friends and no support. It was hard. I missed the adult interaction, it was also winter and I hated being indoors all day long. It would have been easy to say to myself, “What in the world am I doing?” But would I trade it for anything else? No. I feel honored to be at home with my children.

Now, don’t take me wrong. I’m not “judging” anybody here and the choices that we all make. It’s the very last thing that I would want to do. Each of us has our own set of circumstances, wants, needs, and desires. We are all unique individuals, whether we are single, married, no children, ten children, stay at home mom, working mom, etc, we are all trying to make our way through life the best way we know how.

As women, we are all mothers in one way or another to all of those around us!

But it is my hope that for those of us who consider ourselves stay-at-home mom’s, we will stop saying “I’m just a mom” as if it’s something shameful. When did we get into the habit of saying, “just?” There is nothing “just” about this job.

Shortly after reading this book, I had a opportunity of my own to share my sentiments. While at the Stephenie Meyer book signing, I was chatting with one of Stephenie’s people. He asked me, “So what do you do?” I instantly thought about this book and it’s message. I looked him in the eye, and confidently said, “I’m a Mom!” And guess what? Did he say, “oh” and then leave me because I had nothing else interesting to say? Absolutely not. He could tell by my mannersims that I felt good about my choice.

And I am. I’m a Mom!

Hey you! Yes. You! I've noticed that you've stopped by to visit a few times! But I don't know who you are. Why don't you take a moment and introduce yourself. Don't be scared. I try not to bite. I know you're a lurker but I'd love to hear your thoughts about what's been bringing you here. And if you haven't done so already, don't forget to never miss a post by subscribing to my feed or receiving updates by email. Thanks for visiting!