Beyond One: Growing a Family and Getting a Life

Rating:
Summary: I loved this book!
Review: "Beyond One: Growing a Family Life and Getting a Life" was a terrific read, and that is saying a lot from a mother of two who has very little time to read anything, let alone a book. I found the book to be a witty and compassionate look at motherhood that left me feeling that I was not alone. Having a second child can seem so isolating at times that it is a real comfort to realize that there are others in your same situation who feel the same love and frustrations towards their children. Not only do I highly recommend this book, I anxiously await the next book Ms. Hull writes!

Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put it down
Review: I read Beyond One while pregnant with my second child and terrified of what was to come. I was hoping to find some insight into life with two kids but was happily surprised to find the book was hilarious as well. My husband gave me funny looks as I laughed out loud several times while reading it.

Rating:
Summary: A virtual tour of how life changes with the second child
Review: Makes you feel like you are there....

As a mother contemplating a second baby, I really liked this book because it specifically describes the issues a new addition presents and you can see yourself in the situations described, and figure out how you would feel and how you would handle it.

While most parenting advice books tell you what to do, sort of generically, Hull's narrative approach allows you to prepare for having a second by sharing her family's experience and comparing what you might do to what the author did. By focusing on how a second child affects mom, rather then just the firstborn, the author also covers a lot of territory that the parenting guides miss.

Sometimes in life what you need is help with identifying the questions, so you can figure out the answers for yourself. Reading Beyond One is like having dinner with a girlfriend whose kids are older than yours. You get an intimate view of what might lie ahead from her stories, some good tips and best of all, a chance to think things out for yourself.

Easy/ fast and fun to read because you want to know what happened next, and the vignettes are told with humor (very good for us sometimes-overwhelmed first-time parents).


Rating:
Summary: Such a wonderful book
Review: This father of two thought this book was great. While it's easy to read and smart, the book is written for my wife. Still, reading the book, I developed a deeper appreciation for the things my wife experienced after having our second child --and that insight is worth everything. At the same time, the chapters "The Sex Police" and "Dreaming of Divorce" proved to be illuminating. I would strongly recommend the book to parents planning on having a second child (post conception, to be safe) or who have already been so blessed. Jennifer Hull is worth reading.