Tightropes and Teeter-Totters: Finding Balance in the Ups and Downs of Life

Pennington (Mama Needs a Do-Over), a homeschooling mother of nine children, speaker, and popular blogger at The Pennington Point, shares her sometimes over-the-top reactions to mothering, marriage, moods, and money matters, among other common life experiences. Never one to dwell on the negative, Pennington imbues the workaday struggles of motherhood with a gleeful grit that readers will easily relate to. She regales readers with her often comical antics that border on hilarity as she seeks the elusiveness of balance in every area of her life, including homeschooling, parenting children with different needs, and carving out time for herself. Each of her 13 chapters details the happenings of Pennington’s home life peppered with practical takeaways, all within a framework she has developed in coordination with academic and behavioral specialists. The work is never heavy-handed—in fact, some advice seems almost too nonchalant in delivery. Pennington succeeds in providing captivating, essential, and relatable tips for parents with a full house to worry about. (Feb.)