Skip to main content

SAHM I AM by Meredith Efken




SAHM I AM by Meredith Efken

From the back cover:

For the members of a stay-at-home-moms' e-mail loop, lunch with friends is a sandwich in front of the computer. But where else could they discuss things like...

Success: Her workaholic husband is driving Dulcie Huckleberry around the bend. It's hard to love someone in sickness and in health when he's never home!

Art: Let the children express themselves, opines artistic Zelia Muzuwa, and then her son's head gets stuck inside a kitty scratching post . . .

Health: Surely aches and pains are normal in an active little boy, yet those of soccer-mom Jocelyn Millard's son don't seem to be going away.

Motherhood: Teen-mom-turned-farmer's-wife Brenna Lindberg can deal with the mud and the chickens, but what about her husband's desire for a child of his own?

Indiscretions: However youthful, they can come back to haunt you, learns pastor's wife Phyllis Lorimer.

Amends: These could stand to be made between officious list moderator Rosalyn Ebberly and her pampered sister, Veronica. Perhaps the other SAHM I AMers can teach these two something about sisterhood.

Camy here:

This has got to be one of the funniest books I've read this year. That says a lot because I don't even HAVE children, and I tend to dislike books about moms since I can't really relate. But this book about stay-at-home mothers struck a deep chord with me.

The book isn't just about stay-at-home moms, although the heroines are SAHMs. The funnier, sassier theme is hypocrisy within the church. These Christian mothers connect via the internet, but their deeper characters come through despite the "impersonal" medium of emails. The things that happen to these SAHMs aren't as hilarious as the kinds of people they interact with on their email loop and the way they relate to each other.

The Christian stereotypes are all there, three-dimensional and easily recognizable. Those of us deeply involved in ministry and serving in our churches will recognize the different types of "Mary"s and "Martha"s and "Jezebel"s, but sometimes with an unexpected twist. The vibrant characterization made me laugh at my own preconceived notions but also think about my perceptions of my local family in Christ.

I spend a lot of time on email with my friends and family, so the email format was both familiar and a clever fictional tool. There is a wealth of rich, hilarious subtexting going on--things NOT said versus the things actually written in the email. There's also an incredible amount of tongue-in-cheek sarcasm that had me rolling.

The humor reminded me of Penny Culliford's British best-seller "Theodora's Diary." "SAHM I Am" has the same type of dry, clever wit that I love, moreso than the more common, obvious humor in slapstick.

The book is like many other Chick-Lits in that it's more character-driven (strong spiritual threads) than plot-driven by a single thread of action. However, there are five clear subplots interwoven together, taking the place of one main one, with Dulcie's plot taking precedence over the others. It wasn't difficult for me to follow them.

The heroines are relatively young (twenties to thirties) so young mothers will definitely relate. I also think this will appeal to singles, because the humor is not centered around motherhood as much as it's a commentary on Christians in the church.

Comments

twinklemom said…
Oh wow...I SO have got to check this book out and yours too! Congrats on the books!

Popular Posts

No Cold Bums toilet seat cover

Captain's Log, Stardate 08.22.2008 I actually wrote out my pattern! I was getting a lot of hits on my infamous toilet seat cover , and I wanted to make a new one with “improvements,” so I paid attention and wrote things down as I made the new one. This was originally based off the Potty Mouth toilet cover , but I altered it to fit over the seat instead of the lid. Yarn: any worsted weight yarn, about 120 yards (this is a really tight number, I used exactly 118 yards. My suggestion is to make sure you have about 130 yards.) I suggest using acrylic yarn because you’re going to be washing this often. Needle: I used US 8, but you can use whatever needle size is recommended by the yarn you’re using. Gauge: Not that important. Mine was 4 sts/1 inch in garter stitch. 6 buttons (I used some leftover shell buttons I had in my stash) tapestry needle Crochet hook (optional) Cover: Using a provisional cast on, cast on 12 stitches. Work in garter st until liner measures...

Chinese Take-Out and Sushi for One

Captain’s Log, Supplemental My agent sent me an article from Publisher’s Weekly that discussed this incident: Chinese Take-Out Spawns Christian Controversy And here’s also a blog post that talks about it in more detail: The Fighting 44s This is Soong-Chan Rah’s blog: The PCS blog In sum: Apparently Zondervan (yes, my publisher), who has partnered with Youth Specialties, had put out a youth leaders skit that had stereotypical Asian dialogue, which offended many Christian Asian Americans. In response to the outcry, Zondervan/Youth Specialities put out a sincere apology and is not only freezing the remaining stock of the book, but also reprinting it and replacing the copies people have already bought. I am very proud of my publisher for how they have handled this situation. The skit writers have also issued a public apology . (I feel sorry for them, because they were only trying to write a funny skit, not stir up this maelstrom of internet controversy. I’ve been in youth work long enou...

Toilet seat cover

Captain’s Log, Supplemental Update August 2008: I wrote up the pattern for this with "improvements"! Here's the link to my No Cold Bums toilet seat cover ! Okay, remember a few days ago I was complaining about the cold toilet seat in my bathroom? Well, I decided to knit a seat cover. Not a lid cover, but a seat cover. I went online and couldn’t find anything for the seat, just one pattern for the lid by Feminitz.com . However, I took her pattern for the inside edge of the lid cover and modified it to make a seat cover. Here it is! It’s really ugly stitch-wise because originally I made it too small and had to extend it a couple inches on each side. I figured I’d be the one staring at it, so who cared if the extension wasn’t perfectly invisible? I used acrylic yarn since, well, that’s what I had, and also because it’s easy to wash. I’ll probably have to wash this cover every week or so, but it’s easy to take off—I made ties which you can see near the back of the seat. And...

Brainstorm - character occupation

Captain's Log, Stardate 03.23.2009 Hey guys, I could use some help. In my current manuscript, The Year of the Dog , which is a humorous contemporary romance, I have a minor character, Eddie. He’s my heroine’s ex-boyfriend, and they’re on good terms with each other. He’s a bit irresponsible, but not so much so that he’s a complete loser. He’s got a very easy going attitude, he forgets to pay his bills sometimes, he’s friendly and charming. He’s adventurous and fun to be around, but he’s a little forgetful sometimes, and he tends to spend a little outside his income. I need an occupation for him. What would a charming, easy going, slightly irresponsible guy do for a living? He’s not too irresponsible, because otherwise readers will wonder what in the world my heroine saw in him to date him in the first place. She was attracted to his charm, his easy going attitude (her family’s uptight, and he was a nice contrast), and his adventurousness. But his forgetfulness and irresponsibility ...

Grace Livingston Hill romances free to read online

I wanted to update my old post on Grace Livingston Hill romances because now there are tons more options for you to be able to read her books for free online! I’m a huge Grace Livingston Hill fan. Granted, not all her books resonate with me, but there are a few that I absolutely love, like The Enchanted Barn and Crimson Roses . And the best part is that she wrote over 100 books and I haven’t yet read them all! When I have time, I like to dive into a new GLH novel. I like the fact that most of them are romances, and I especially appreciate that they all have strong Christian themes. Occasionally the Christian content is a little heavy-handed for my taste, but it’s so interesting to see what the Christian faith was like in the early part of the 20th century. These books are often Cinderella-type stories or A Little Princess (Frances Hodgson Burnett) type stories, which I love. And the best part is that they’re all set in the early 1900s, so the time period is absolutely fasci...