Bibliography

Being the Mom: 10 Coping Strategies I Learned by Accident Because I Had Children on Purpose

Emily Watts

What do moms need?

Over the course of my editing career, I kept watching for the parenting book I myself needed, which was a book that would help me love being a mother even if I didn't do it so well all the time. I didn't want to be made to feel guilty for what I wasn't accomplishing. I wanted to feel that it wasn't treason to admit that some parts of a mom's job are not all that exciting or rewarding, at least on the surface. I wanted to feel NORMAL, that being tired and frustrated and sometimes clumsy and inefficient wouldn't strike my name from the rolls of "good moms" forevermore.  

When no one wrote that book, I finally decided to write it myself.

From what I've heard since then, I've decided that what most moms need, bottom line, is to laugh for a little while, dust themselves off, and get back in the game. I hope this book can help them do that.

Published: April 2002
Pages: 160

Take Two Chocolates and Call Me in the Morning: 12 Semi-Practical Solutions for the Really Busy Woman

Emily Watts

Shortly after Being the Mom was published, people kept coming up to me and saying, "I'm not a mom, but I like the things you teach. Can't you write a book for me?" So I gathered up everything that had occurred to me after my first book was on the shelf (it's like when you sit down after bearing your testimony and then think of everything you meant to say), and I put together this little stress-relief book. 

Sometimes you just need some fresh coping strategies, you know? Some little thing to help you get over a rough spot. A tweak in perspective. Sometimes it's as simple as realizing that another person has felt what you're feeling and managed to get through it somehow.

A little chocolate--and a little laughter--may just be all you need.

Published: April: 2003
Pages: 160

How to Survive Your Greatest Blessings

Emily Watts

Here's a  fun little game for you to try at home. Divide a sheet of paper into two columns, and in one column list all your blessings that come to mind. Then, in the other column, list everything that's worrying or frustrating you right now. Do your lists overlap? Mine always do! The things that are the greatest blessings in my life (husband, kids, home, job, for starters) tend also to be the things that cause me the most stress.

It's like every experience or relationship is a coin with two sides, and the trick to being happy is to see the blessing side of the coin. That's what this talk is about.

Published: January 2005
Length: 60 mins

Confessions of an Unbalanced Woman

Emily Watts

I spent years of my life in an elusive quest for "balance." So many priorities competed for my attention, I never felt that I was doing anything really well. I went to seminars. I searched the scriptures. I couldn't figure it out.

Then, one day, I had an epiphany: Maybe I was asking the wrong question. Maybe there was something more important than balance that I should be seeking! This little book, based on a talk I gave one year at Time Out for Women, describes what I learned.

Released: June 2006