Mom Central Review: Crawling

I finished reading Elisha Cooper's book, Crawling, and immediately sought out my husband for some loving. Cooper's honest and poignant writing style brought back so many memories of the year my DH & I first became parents, that I had to go & kiss my sweet husband for all that he still does for our family.

I think fathers are often overlooked when it comes to new parenthood -- except for dumb jokes and assumed incompetence. I was delighted while reading Crawling -- a book written by a father about that first, wondrous year of becoming a parent. I was enchanted by his love for his family, and enjoyed his writing. His book of essays about that first year of fatherhood was funny, honest and charming. The overriding thing that came through was his deep and utter love for his wife and his daughter, and that was so endearing to me.

I enjoy reading about other people's lives; I know it feeds the voyeur in me. I like to read about how other people approach life and how they respond to various situations. What Cooper's family and mine have in common is a great love for our families, and I loved reading his feelings about his family. Cooper writes from a father's standpoint, but many of the things he writes ring true for any parent - male or female. At one point he wrote "Acceptance of change is at the heart of parenting . . ." and I thought "YES!" and even called a good friend (and mom to a toddler) to read her that line!

His essay about his daughter's dog bite brought tears to my eyes, and a reminder of the fear I've experienced when faced with hospital visits with my children. His book also made me think of my own sons as fathers some day -- and I imagine they will be as helpful then as they are now with me and their baby sister; fetching water and snacks so that I can spend hours each day nursing.

I looked Cooper up on Amazon and realized that we have checked out his children's books from our library in the past. I feel like I know him a little better now, and we'll look for more of his books in the future!

Thanks to Mom Central for giving me the opportunity to read & review this book!