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Worthy of Love and Attention
Hope for Moms: It’s Tough Out There, but So Are You is more than a self-help guide to parenting; it offers readers a mix of personal stories, practical advice, and emotional validation of the unpredictability surrounding motherhood. Why was this an important book for you to write?
I have a heart for moms who are struggling or feel overwhelmed, but who are actually doing a much better job at motherhood than they give themselves credit for. I know what it is like to look around and think that everyone else knows what they are doing—that’s a lonely feeling. I started out as a blogger and I eventually found that I needed a bigger container to write about some of the tough topics that were important to me. This book is about some of the curveballs we were thrown as a family, but also about how we’ve grown as a result. We’re braver now.
What are some of the ideas that it was important to share?
Being a mom is just hard and that’s not because moms are doing something wrong. I want moms to feel empowered to figure out what will support them most during this journey of raising kids. At the end of each chapter, I have questions or quotes that help the reader apply my observations to their own lives. I also wanted to emphasize that caring for ourselves as moms isn’t ONLY so we can care for others; we need to tend to ourselves because we are lovely humans who are worthy of love and attention.
What was the hardest thing for you to write about?
Probably it was most challenging to write about some of the things we needed to change once we adopted the twins, who are African-American. Talking honestly about race is always risky, but also always important. I write that I’d confused being progressive with being anti-racist. Essentially, we didn’t know how white we were until we started looking at the world through a new lens. Nonetheless, it was really important to me that I was honest and open when writing this book: not only about race but also about the ways being a parent is humbling and ultimately redemptive.
What is one thing you hope readers will take away?
I hope readers will feel less alone when they finish Hope For Moms. I hope they’ll remember that we all make mistakes, but we keep trying. I hope they’ll have some tools for not only surviving motherhood but thriving. I hope they will feel valued, encouraged, and strengthened.
Author Links: Website | Instagram | Facebook | Amazon
Many of us did everything we could to prepare for becoming moms, but there just wasn’t any way to know what might lie ahead. Most of us have, at one point or another, looked around and wondered if we are alone in our parenting challenges.
Hope for Moms offers a heartfelt guide for mothers navigating both the joys and heartbreak of being a mom, sharing Anna McArthur’s personal journey through parenting difficulties such as learning disabilities, LGBTQ+ identities, and adoption. Structured around a triage plan that helped the author prioritize her family’s needs, it includes practical insights, quotes, and reflection questions to support moms in their journey of resilience and soul care. With gentleness and humor, McArthur provides reassurance to mothers, reminding them they have the strength to not only survive motherhood, but thrive.
If you’re a mom who feels overwhelmed by the curveballs life has thrown your way, you aren’t alone—yes, it’s tough out there, but so are you!
Hope For Moms
Anna McArthur’s Hope for Moms is a raw, heartfelt guide for moms navigating the unpredictable joys and struggles of parenting. The book offers a mix of personal stories, practical advice, and emotional validation, making it feel less like a manual and more like a conversation with a wise and understanding friend. McArthur divides her insights into three categories: Yes, No, and Maybe. She helps moms determine what’s essential, what can be let go, and what is worth reconsidering as they move forward. She covers everything from the exhaustion of early motherhood to the deeper challenges of raising kids with learning disabilities, LGBTQ+ identities, and racial complexities within an adoptive family. The book reassures moms that they are not alone and provides a roadmap for embracing imperfection while finding strength.
McArthur doesn’t sugarcoat motherhood. In Chapter 1, she recalls an overwhelming moment when her two-year-old staged a sit-in at preschool while her infant screamed in his carrier. A stranger offered to help, but McArthur reflexively refused until the woman ignored her resistance and just stepped in. This moment perfectly illustrates the lesson of the chapter: “Remember to keep accepting help.” I found this so relatable. How many times have we moms insisted, “I’ve got it,” when in reality, we’re drowning? The book is filled with these little reminders that strength isn’t about doing it all alone; it’s about knowing when to lean on others.
Another powerful moment comes in Chapter 3 when McArthur describes her son Caleb coming out as gay in a rural Georgia high school. She admits that despite being a progressive Christian and vocal about LGBTQ+ rights, she didn’t handle it as well as she wished. Fear clouded her initial response. But instead of dwelling on guilt, she took steps to grow and support her son, from reading parenting guides to treating his relationship with the same warmth she would any of her other children’s. This chapter hit home. We all want to believe we’ll react perfectly in big parenting moments, but often, we stumble before finding our footing. McArthur’s transparency in these moments makes her advice feel accessible rather than idealistic.
One of the most eye-opening sections is Chapter 10, where McArthur realizes she has been disappearing into her children’s lives. It took her therapist bluntly asking, “How are you?” for her to recognize she had no answer outside of updates on her kids. That was a gut punch for me. As parents, it’s so easy to wrap our entire identities around our children’s needs, but this chapter gently nudges moms to reclaim space for themselves. She takes horseback riding lessons just for her, no kids involved. This kind of intentional self-care isn’t about spa days or bubble baths but about rediscovering who we are beyond motherhood.
I’d recommend Hope for Moms to any mother who has ever felt overwhelmed, inadequate, or just plain exhausted, which, let’s be real, is every mom at some point. It’s especially relevant for moms facing unexpected challenges, whether it’s special needs, adoption complexities, or simply the relentless pressure of parenting. McArthur writes with humor, warmth, and just the right amount of tough love. Reading this book felt like sitting across from a friend who has been through it all and is offering me a hand to hold. If you need a reminder that you’re not alone and that you don’t have to get it all right, this book is for you.
Pages: 168 | ISBN : 1643435604
LITERARY TITAN 