Vendor
	Mohrbooks Literary Agency Sebastian Ritscher
Original language
English
Categories
Parenting: advice & issues

NURTURE THE WOW

Danya Ruttenberg

Finding Spirituality in the Frustration, Boredom, Tears, Poop, Desperation, Wonder, and...

A deeply affecting, funny, insightful book about parenthood?not parenting? that shows how the experiences we have as parents can change us for the better.

Every day, parents are bombarded by demands. The pressures of work and life are relentless; our children’s needs are often impossible to meet; and we rarely, if ever, allow ourselves the time and attention necessary to satisfy our own inner longings. Parenthood is difficult, demanding, and draining. And yet, argues Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg, if we can approach it from a different mindset, perhaps the work of parenting itself can offer the solace we seek.

Rooted in Judaism but incorporating a wide-range of religious and literary traditions, NURTURE THE WOW asks, Can ancient ideas about relationships, drudgery, pain, devotion, and purpose help make the hard parts of a parent’s job easier and the magical stuff even more so? Ruttenberg shows how parenting can be considered a spiritual practice?and how seeing it that way can lead to transformation. This is a parenthood book, not a parenting book; it shows how the experiences we have as parents can change us for the better.
Enlightening, uplifting, and laugh-out-loud funny, NURTURE THE WOW reveals how parenthood?in all its crazy-making, rage-inducing, awe and joy-filled moments?can actually be the path to living fully, authentically, and soulfully.

Danya Ruttenberg was named one of ten "rabbis to watch" by Newsweek and one of the "50 most influential women rabbis" by The Forward. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, Salon, and elsewhere. Her first book, SURPRISED BY GOD, was nominated for a Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish literature and was a Hadassah Book Club selection. She lives in the Chicago area with her husband and children.

Available products
Book Published 2016-04-19 by Flatiron Books
Book Published 2016-04-19 by Flatiron Books

Comments

Remember the ‘operating instructions’ Anne Lamott famously complained don’t come with babies? Well, they finally got here! Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg breaks the news gently: the kids themselves aren't the problem?the manual we need is for our own messed-up mental states, and NURTURE THE WOW is exactly that. I so wish I’d had this wise, funny, and insightful book thirty-six years ago, and once my son’s read it he will wish I had too!

NURTURE THE WOW offers a refreshing break from parenting books that tell us only what to do and not do, and instead invites us to ask the larger questions of how and why. This is a wise and honest guide to seeing the magic inside the mundane.

NURTURE THE WOW is a great reminder to live more fully in the present?a great gift to any child and every parent. Danya Ruttenberg's own story woven with doses of wisdom from religious and spiritual leaders gives this book the perfect balance of head and heart.

Ruttenberg challenges readers to find spiritual meaning in the nitty-gritty of parenting. This illuminating book offers much that can enrich the experience of daily care for small children.

As the parent of young children, Danya Ruttenberg knows how to juggle her many responsibilities. As an author, she shows the rest of us how to juggle the demands of the body and spirit. NURTURE THE WOW is a book about finding grace when you thought you were changing a diaper. And it is also one of those rare gems that seems to add a new color to the already vibrant palate of parenting books. Read this book and you will feel less alone. Read this book and you will see how parenthood can translate into a kind of universal prayer. Ruttenberg is a compelling writer with much to say.