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One Beautiful Dream

The Rollicking Tale of Family Chaos, Personal Passions, and Saying Yes to Them Both

Audiobook
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0 of 1 copy available
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Is it possible to pursue your passions, love your family, and not feel guilty about wanting to do both? One Beautiful Dream is your invitation to the unexpected joy of saying yes to the life you long to live.

Work and family, individuality and motherhood, the creative life and family life—women are told constantly that they can't have it all. One Beautiful Dream is the deeply personal, often humorous tale of what happened when one woman dared to believe that you can have it all—if you're willing to reimagine what having it all looks like.

Jennifer Fulwiler is the last person you might expect to be the mother of six young children. First of all, she's an introvert only child, self-described workaholic, and former atheist who never intended to have a family. Oh, and Jennifer has a blood-clotting disorder exacerbated by pregnancy that has threatened her life on more than one occasion.

One Beautiful Dream is the story of what happens when one woman embarks on the wild experiment of chasing her dreams with multiple kids in diapers. It's the tale of learning that opening your life to others means that everything will get noisy and chaotic, but that it is in this mess that you'll find real joy.

Jennifer's quest takes her in search of wisdom from a cast of colorful characters, including her Ivy-League-educated husband, her Texan mother-in-law who crushes wasps with her fist while arguing with wrong number calls about politics, and a best friend who's never afraid to tell it like it is. Through it all, Jennifer moves toward the realization that the life you need is not the life you would have originally chosen for yourself. And maybe, just maybe, it's better that way.

Hilarious, highly relatable, and brutally honest, Jennifer's story will spark clarity and comfort to your own tug-of-war between all that is good and beautiful about family life and the incredible sacrifice it entails. Parenthood, personal ambitions, family planning, and faith—it's complicated. Let this book be your invitation to the unexpected, yet beautiful dream of saying yes to them all, with God's help.

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    • Booklist

      April 15, 2018
      Fulwiler's funny, heartwarming book is a welcome addition to the canon of mom writing. An introverted atheist growing up, Fulwiler converts to Catholicism and eventually has six children. She's a writer at heart, too, and this book tells the story of her efforts to pursue her dream of writing while caring well for her family and being, as she describes it, open to what God wants for her family. So much of her story will especially resonate with parents: the naps abandoned too early, the familiar guilt when you finally do take time for yourself, and lots and lots of poop. Throughout the strife, though, Fulwiler points to an amazing amount of grace that keeps showing up just when she needs it. In spite of the disasters, readers will appreciate the reminder that even when they can't have it all, they can still have some very, very good things.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)

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  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

Languages

  • English

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