Hands Free Life: Nine Habits for Overcoming Distraction, Living Better, and Loving More

As 2015 approached, I began to think about the dreaded New Year’s Resolutions. What did I want to change?  What did I want to do?  What did I want to stop doing? But sitting at a small table in Starbucks, holding on to a steaming cup of Peppermint Hot Chocolate, my dear friend Shelby suggested that I take a different approach.

“Choose a word,” she said.  “Not a bunch of resolutions, but a word.  Some people choose brave, for instance.  Or peace.  I’m choosing Selah. Choose a word for your year.”

So I did.  Being the ridiculous over-achieving perfectionist that I am, I chose two words. “Fearless” and “Simplify.”  My drive to simplify things is why I was so very excited to read Hands Free Life by Rachel Macy Stafford.  I read some amazing reviews about her writing, and was ready to cozy up with her advice as soon as I possibly could.

Now, to preface, let me say this: Rachel’s writing is fantastic.  The way she puts words and sentences together is absolutely beautiful.  She is a very gifted writer, and has a way of pulling you in from the first page.  As I was reading, I felt like she was sitting right next to me, sharing stories and wisdom and heart-break and inspiration directly to me.

With that said, I personally ended up being a little disappointed with this book. Hands Free Life is Rachel’s second book, her first being Hands Free Mama (which also has rave reviews.)  While I am a mom, and love taking care of my husband and my little ones, I wanted a book this time around that was a little more geared towards Stacie the woman, not Stacie the mom.  Which is why I chose Hands Free Life instead of Hands Free Mama.  And while this book is wonderful and packed full of good stuff, it is still pretty “mother” focused.

Bottom Line: Would I recommend this book?  Absolutely!  You will definitely learn some things.  Just understand that it has a pretty strong parent theme running throughout.

**I received a complimentary copy of this book from BookLook Bloggers in exchange for an honest review.