The Middle Matters by Lisa-Jo Baker

"The middle is the place where we might have outgrown the shape of our teenage jeans but have finally grown into the shape of our souls, "I think this quote from Lisa-Jo Baker's The Middle Matters sums up her book. Baker talks about how women's bodies and lives change as they get older and how we can embrace that change.

The Middle Matters is divided into eight sections: Why the Middle of Your Muffin Top Matters, Why the Middle of Your Marriage Matters, Why the Middle of Your Parenting Matters, Why the Middle of Your Living Room Matters,  Why the Middle of Your Failures Matters, Why the Middle of All Those Sports Practices Matters, Why the Middle of Your Friendship Matters, and Why the Middle of Your Faith Matters. Each of these sections have a few essays related to the topic that are easy for many women to relate to.

Baker's stories and essays are down-to-earth in The Middle Matters. She seems to share from her heart and is "real" with her readers and I especially like that. I found many of these stories were ones that I could relate to and it was comforting to hear another mom feel similarly. She made me laugh and she made me cry at times. However, since everyone's life is different, there were some essays that I couldn't relate to but were still interesting to read. One chapter in the friendship section did feel like she was just honoring her many friends since she was writing a book. As a whole though, I enjoyed this book and found many stories that I could relate to. I think most married women or older moms would also agree.

I received The Middle Matters from the publisher. I was not required to write a review. All opinions are my own.