Mended by Blythe Daniel and Helen McIntosh

People used to tell my mom and I that we looked alike. As we have gotten older, we don't hear that a much. But while we may look alike, we don't always think alike or act alike. That can create some problems. Maybe you have similar struggles with your mom or daughter. Mended by Blythe Daniel and Helen McIntosh was written to help mothers and daughters have a relationship of restoration and healing.

Mended is co-written by a mother daughter team. Blythe is the daughter and Helen is the mother. Throughout the book, there are perspectives written by each woman. At the front of the book there is a forward by ministry leader and author Stasi Eldridge.  In each chapter, there is a mix of advice and personal stories from both Helen and Blythe. Helen has a degree in counseling psychology. At the end of each chapter there is an area called Mending Thread with questions to ask and prompts to help you think about how to make your mother-daughter relationship better. There is another short section after that called Making It Personal where there is an action that you can take to make your relationship better. Mended concludes with two appendixes to give further resources from Ransomed Heart Ministries and a selection of helpful Bible verses.

Honestly, I felt like God wanted me to read Mended but there was a part of me that was dreading it. I am a lot like Helen and my relationship with my mother shares similarities to her story. I could relate to her story quite well. I am a person who has learned to distance myself from the hard things I feel from my mother. I wasn't anxious to plunge into facing those feelings and making changes. I still have work to do but I am glad that I read Mended. It has given me a lot to think about as a daughter. I don't know if my mother would read this book but the book would be especially helpful if both parties would read it. At the same time, it isn't necessary for some healing to take place. For me, it is a good reference book that I will keep on my shelf and use when I know I need to work on some healing changes. I especially appreciated how each woman was not preachy and came across as truly wanting to help and humble themselves in this work. This book is grounded in God's word and would be most meaningful to a Christian woman. I would recommend Mended to either party of the mother-daughter relationship who needs restoration and heart healing from a Christian perspective.

I received this book from the authors/publisher. I was not required to write a positive review.