The Self-Care Solution: A Modern Mother's Must-Have Guide to Health and Well-Being

What makes this book so meaningful and easy to relate to is the fact that the author has personal experience with some very challenging experiences in life, in her adolescence, early adulthood, marriage and in parenting four kids. This gives the book so much credibility. Burton addresses the shame and insecurities I feel -- and, clearly, many other people feel -- about not doing enough of the right things for our kids, our families, or ourselves. She also openly discusses anxiety, depression, and isolation in ways that are NOT depressing, but, instead, de-stigmatizing.The way this book is written, the stories, content, suggestions, and humor inside is the equivalent of many hours of therapy or -- even better -- a few good weekend getaways with your best girlfriends! Even after just beginning "The Self-Care Solution", I heard the voices of the author, Julie Burton, and the hundreds of women she surveyed who share personal stories whispering over my shoulder, "It's ok, you can handle this." Or, "Put down your purse, the backpack, the mail, and the half-empty smoothie cup, go sit outside in the sun." Or, even better, I choose to day, "I am going to go take a bath."Bullet points in each chapter are great for quick bathroom- or car-reading.

I bought this book because of all of the five star reviews. I expected helpful solutions for motherhood. And I was hoping to find a book to offer as a gift to new mothers but this book is not a book I would give to a friend. I was really excited for this book! I am a mother of four young kids and find "self care" to be an elusive and vague concept and I was hoping this book would help clarify my own thoughts, experience, and in addition offer solid information. I expected that kind of information with 5 star reviews and those reviews are why I bought the book.But the book didn't offer new information and I thought the style was rambling instead of offering concrete, new, and useful solutions. My expectations were high and had it received more realistic reviews I would not give it a 1 star rating but I feel I owe it to potential readers to balance the scales a little bit. (I suspect the author is a blogger and she asked her audience to review the book. I don't know if she's a blogger or not so my review is unbiased in that way.)There has not been one piece of advice that hasn't been given in any normal women's magazine, random motherhood blog, or conversation with other mothers. ***You can learn any of the information in this book by googling "self care for mothers" and save yourself money and time.***This book feels more like a collection of blog posts and I don't mean to demean the author's experience or writing as I know having four young kids and working and balancing life is hard...but this book is not worth money to buy. If I wanted to read about another woman's experience and feelings about being a mom I would talk to my friends, journal, or read a blog or articles for free. I would not buy a book like this and I expected some new or more efficient solutions rather than reading someone's journal with bland and common knowledge "advice" at the end of each chapter.Normally I buy books without any regret or thought to spending 10-20$ as there is at least one piece of new information that the author has passed on to me from their work collecting information, synthesizing findings or patterns, and/or great writing....but this book has none of those redeeming qualities and it's one of the few books I regret buying. Hopefully this review will help someone realize this is a 2-3 star book at best and not a solid 5 star book.

How I wished I had this book when my children were younger...It would have been a tremendous reminder that it is not "all about them." I love my kids and now that they've grown into young adults, I can see how their own experiences, relationships and circumstances still have a huge impact on my life. This book, while SO beneficial to mother's with young kids, has also served as a great reminder to me that I am still, despite the years of giving myself to my kids, a learning, growing and powerful woman who deserves to take some time for herself, especially when my adult kids have issues that I cannot control. Breathe, pray, listen...Do what you need to do, but then step back and trust the process. The Self-Care Solution is honest, compelling and rewarding! Thank you for reminding us mother's that it's okay. That everything is going to be just fine!

Even as a single dad, I found some great guidance, helpful tips and much-needed validation. Was skeptical about a quasi-parenting book written by a mom, but a friend recommended it, and this book was spot on. To be sure, not everything applied to my situation, but no book of this type ever seems to. (Not sure why this author, and others -- like the Eliums, for example -- are gender-specific for parents or children, but a lot of the content applies to moms and dads/sons and daughters). I got a lot out of this book even though I'm a father.I liked that the book was not judgy, very practical and contained some common sense stuff that I just didn't think about. I also liked the tone of it: none of the "you have to do things this way" approach. Great read.

Each night before bed, I've been reading Julie Burton's excellent book one chapter at a time (a source of joy and self-care I'm sure she'd recommend!), and every night I myself turning off the light thinking, "Thank you. Thank you." In The Self-Care Solution, Ms. Burton offers practical advice alongside wrenching personal stories of her own experiences as a mother of four. From the first pages, I felt connected to her and to other mothers I've never met. Even better? I felt more connected to myself; validated, reassured, lifted up. I'm already looking for ways to be more present, to acknowledge my own happiness, to make myself a priority in my day to day life. No one else cares for our families like we do and Ms. Burton's book is a convincing argument for mothers to focus some of that self-care on ourselves!