Rating: 
Summary: Food for thought
Review: A book that generates the kinds of strong-minded opinions seen in these reviews merits the quick read required to get through Surrendering to Motherhood. Although I don't agree with Iris' opinions in all areas and didn't require as much time in life as she did to recognize the pure joy and peace-amidst-chaos that accompanies motherhood, I found her book full of powerful insights, intriguing explorations, and beautiful experiences to which I could relate. Some view the surrender of self to a higher purpose as a weak-minded sellout. Choosing to prioritize family over one's self requires greater strength, integrity, wisdom, independence, and confidence in one's identity and purpose than any other role that can be filled by a woman. This kind of surrender does not exclude women who work as Iris notes. She does a wonderful job of exemplifying how surrender to motherhood results in complete fulfillment and a peace with one's identity that cannot be fully understood without allowing priorities to be reorganized.
Rating: 
Summary: not a classic, but enjoyable enough
Review: I do not share Iris Krasnow's driving ambition, nor her good fortune at being financially well-off. In fact I am about as different from her as one could possibly get. But I do relate to her in one way: I have found myself needing to be in the process of surrendering to motherhood.I have had to struggle to allow myself to let go of expectations (from myself and others) to "do something worthwhile" with my life and "contribute to society," i.e., have a successful career. I have also had to struggle to let go of this mindset that says that I always have to be looking forward and away, rather than just appreciating the moment. I have also had to struggle to give of myself, a struggle even when it was in my own best interest. She affirms, from her personal experience, that it is *okay* to choose this path. It is valid, as well as fulfilling and honorable. That's a nice thing to hear when you've grown up in a culture that has no respect for and devalues the woman (or man, for that matter) who wishes to make her children, rather than her career, the priority in her life. Iris herself is quite a character, and though she does tend to be unnecessarily (and sometimes tediously) verbose, I enjoyed reading about her career and often fruitless search for truth and happiness. She is simple and honest and does not take herself too seriously, speaking of her missteps with tenderness and forgiveness toward herself.
Rating: 
Summary: I enjoyed this
Review: I enjoyed this book. It helped me to relax and enjoy my young boys instead of continuing to daydream about the career I had and wonder what I am missing out on. Thank you for writing this and I will be reading Surrendering to Marriage next.
Rating:
Summary: a book that I could feel "Shaping Me" as I read it
Review: I think this is what I was looking for when I picked it up off the shelf - a book that is honest about how tiring and difficult parenting can be, and at the same time realizes the glimpses of the spiritual one can find through the most exhausting and seemingly menial tasks. (a bit like the Quotidian Mysteries and Kathleen Norris). I really felt this book shaping me as I read it - giving me a new way to view the prospect of motherhood. Krasnow is honest about the difficulties and the grime, so I can trust her when she also talks about the gifts and the wonder. There was only one gap in the book for me - the role of fathers. Krasnow did describe the difficulty she experienced in her marriage and alluded to the role having 4 children so quickly played in these problems. She described how she and her husband worked on their marriage and held it together. However, throughout the book, she talks about parenting and the highs it brings her without reflecting on her husband's role in raising the boys. What highs does parenting bring him? Is he ever around? I would have expected more "together my husband and I did this great thing with the kids" or "after we had all the boys in bed, we reflected on the day together and such-and-such that little so-and-so did and what the boys meant to us". Maybe Krasnow decided she wanted to appeal more to single mothers and cut much of the mention of her husband's role in parenting the boys out of the book. All I know is that part of parenting is learning to share the children and the caretaking with your mate, and this was not addressed. Back to the positive, after you begin to read the book it turns into a real page-turner, which is rare for a book of its genre. Krasnow includes enough of her life to make it feel like a story, so it keeps you interested until the end. She also includes excerpts from her interviews with some very interesting figures (Barbara Bush, Yoko Ono, Queen Noor, etc. etc.) from her days as a journalist. These excerpts flow very nicely into the story. Krasnow also shares some insight she has gained about her own parents, including her pain of losing her father. These become assets to the book as well. All in all, I would highly recommend this book to others. I am hoping to find another book that will fill in this one small gap for me. The book really is 90% excellent and 90% is pretty darned good in a book oriented to "parentintg/self-help/spiritual", a field that too often produces fluff and feel-good-moments that don't last because they placate instead of actually re-shaping you.
Rating: 
Summary: Surrendering?
Review: I would hardly call writing books (she has written two others since Motherhood, I believe), going on book promotion tours, and have nannies and household help "surrendering" to motherhood. Please. She has merely shifted gears and is now surrendering to being the stay-at-home mom cheerleader, without any of the discomforts, the problems, or worries that millions of other women face. And just to add, many women would love to be able to stay at home with their children, at least while they are very young, but can't afford to.
Rating:
Summary: Surrendering?
Review: I would hardly call writing books (she has written two others since Motherhood, I believe), going on book promotion tours, and have nannies and household help "surrendering" to motherhood. Please. She has merely shifted gears and is now surrendering to being the stay-at-home mom cheerleader, without any of the discomforts, the problems, or worries that millions of other women face. And just to add, many women would love to be able to stay at home with their children, at least while they are very young, but can't afford to.
Rating:
Summary: A good memoir for working mothers, but don't expect advice.
Review: In this memoir, Iris Krasnow describes her long search for inner peace and personal satisfaction, and how she finally found it as the mother of four young children. As a memoir, the book is very interesting, and Krasnow has some interesting observations about the difficult balancing act that women who value their professional lives and their children face. I was vaguely disappointed by the book, however. For as much as Krasnow emphasizes the joy she finds in motherhood, she spends well over half of the book telling about the glamorous life she led as a professional woman. I couldn't help think that she was sounding a bit defensive in the "I'm happy now and I don't need those thrills anymore," while going on at length about just how thrilling her life was. Also, she does end up sounding a bit patronizing toward women who choose to continue their professional lives--unintentionally, I imagine--but describing them at one point as "dabblers" in motherhood sounded a bit judgmental from someone who was professing to advocate tolerance for all choices. All in all, there is much inspiration in the book, and lots to think about for mothers and mothers-to-be. But don't read this for advice, or expect to be told how you can find similar enlightenment.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting look into motherhood, esp for stay at home moms
Review: Ms. Krasnow's life has been an interesting one. Her shift from full-time working woman to stay at home mom wasn't an easy one. For those of us who have also found this shift challenging, this book provides validation. Ms. Krasnow emphasizes finding the joy in the mundane, learning that all day, everyday is not fireworks but that there are many, many small joys. An enjoyable read.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting look into motherhood, esp for stay at home moms
Review: Ms. Krasnow's life has been an interesting one. Her shift from full-time working woman to stay at home mom wasn't an easy one. For those of us who have also found this shift challenging, this book provides validation. Ms. Krasnow emphasizes finding the joy in the mundane, learning that all day, everyday is not fireworks but that there are many, many small joys. An enjoyable read.
Rating:
Summary: Vacuous, New Age Drivel
Review: This book is, quite frankly, horrible. It conveys the "struggle" of a self-indulgent female from an upper-middle class background who has to make an agonizing "choice" between a high-powered career and motherhood. After spending several years studying and partying at a prestigious university, the author went on to pursue a high-powered career that left her feeling "empty" and "spiritually unfulfilled." After studying transcendental meditation and attempting other dubious New Age panaceas, she tried something truly groundbreaking--she married a well-to-do male and started producing babies. Come on! I find it hard to feel sorry or sympathetic for a woman who has never known true hardship or struggle. This book has nothing to say to millions of women for whom the combination of work and motherhood is not a choice but a necessity. I recommend reading Barbara Ehrenreich's "Nickel and Dimed" to understand the choices women have to make in the REAL world. "Surrendering to Motherhood" is nothing but a 212 page guilt trip aimed at both working women and the men who love them.
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