Eight Little Faces: A Mom's Journey || Where to now..??
Written: Oct 07 '09
Product Rating:
Pros: Will appeal to Jon & Kate Plus 8 fans...
Cons: Will not appeal to those who want the latest Jon & Kate Plus 8 gossip...
The Bottom Line: Any family crumbling apart is a sad story. Too bad this family did not give true testament to the thoughts and scriptures shared here.
sleeper54's Full Review: Kate Gosselin - Eight Little Faces: A Mom's Journe...
... It is a pop culture story unfamiliar to me. I recognize the names, recognize the show title, know there has been some recent publicity about marital problems and a recent breakup. That is really all I know about it.
When I saw Eight Little Faces: A Mom's Journey in the New Books section at the library I was drawn to the author's name: Kate Gosselin. The spine was brightly colored with the title and author info and the bright colors continued on the cover. I pulled it out to examine, a bit curious.
Ahh yes ... Jon & Kate Plus 8 . . .that Kate Gosselin.
Dewey decimal tagged in the 'Family Relationships' section (yes, I Googled it, I am not that much of a 'biblio-geek') it is surrounded by books about family, marriage, and divorce. Hmmm, those topics seemed particularly apt from what I knew about the family.
Jon and Kate Gosselin have been married since the late 1990s. They are parents of twin daughters and sextuplets, three boys and three girls. They have a show on TLC cable network that chronicles their family's lives.
Eight Little Faces: A Mom's Journey, focuses on Kate's interactions with her children. Each two-page spread follows the same format: a theme word or phrase, a picture or two, a 'hand-written' journal-like entry by Kate, and a related Bible quote. This format addresses the theme in each section.
It is refreshing to see the two older children get a couple of spreads where just they are featured. It is also telling to see Jon is included in several photos and several 'journal' entries.
The section titled "Guidance" I found particularly telling. The Biblical phrase is: "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. Psalm 119:105" The picture shows Kate sitting in the kitchen floor surrounded by the eight children. Her thoughts read: "Jon and I have learned that we don't want to be anywhere but where God wants us to be. We earnestly seek his direction and plan for our lives. And although our schedules are jam-packed, we know that he is with us, guiding our way."
This all seems quite ironic given the apparent dissolution of this marriage and family. It seems Jon or Kate or both have quit listening to whatever 'guidance' they were receiving. At least this reader cannot imagine their God wants their family split apart.
Other topics covered include God's Plans, Trust, Strength, Unity, Love, and others. The Bible verses, Kate's journal reflections, and pictures used all seem to tie the particular themes together.
Speaking of the pictures ...there is a very disturbing one of Kate lying in bed (apparently) shortly before delivering her sextuplets. My gawd, the horror..!! That stomach is a sight to see. If you have ever been pregnant or been the partner of a pregnant woman . . .you will thank your god your/her pregnancy was nothing like Kate's experience.
The Bottom Line It would be easy, I suppose, to find no small amount of schadenfreude in the troubles of the Gosselin marriage and family. But surely the thoughts shared in Eight Little Faces: A Mom's Journey have value to Kate Gosselin and to her reader. That she, and her husband Jon, have fallen short of the ideals expressed here is only human.
Perhaps that human failure and the effect it has on this family and its members as that failure ripples out through time . . .perhaps that should evoke a knowing nod and a thought of 'there but for the grace of God, go I' rather than any thought of censure or condemnation.
If you are a fan of Jon & Kate Plus 8 and simply can not get enough of the family, go ahead and pick Eight Little Faces: A Mom's Journey up. But do know there is no acknowledgement of, no explanation of, and no gossip about ongoing family troubles.
In Eight Little Faces, Kate Gosselin shares her heart and soul with her fans. Using personal family photos, Scripture verses, and commentary, she shar...More at Christianbook.com
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