The Minivan Years: Celebrating the Hectic Joys of Motherhood

Bruner looks back on her younger life driving a VW Bug, wearing stylish clothes and teaching elementary school with fondness. Like many women, she gladly reprioritized her life to become what she called the ultimate stay-at-home soccer mom. She tells anecdotes about the mishaps as well as the victories of raising three sons and a daughter, offering advice to parents who may be dealing with similar situations. Though occasionally cute, it generally lacks the humor that might have made the book interesting. For example, a story about leaving her 10-year-old to babysit a bathing toddler (resulting in a naked, wet toddler knocking on the neighbor's door looking for her mommy) could have been presented in a comical light, but Bruner goes for the “lesson I learned” tract. The author is not a psychologist or sociologist, just a mother who finds strength and solace in her religion. She believes in passing on her Christian values through playing with her children, spending quality family time and making real-life comparisons to stories in the Bible whenever the opportunity presents itself. (Jan.)