Sparkly Green Earrings: Catching the Light at Every Turn by Melanie Shankle

Written by Melanie Shankle

Narrated by Melanie Shankle

'There is really no better indicator you're a mother than acquiring the ability to catch throw-up in a plastic bag, disinfect your hands, and immediately ask your friend to pass the beef jerky as you put on another Taylor Swift song and act as if nothing has happened.'This is the type of insight Melanie Shankle offers in this quirky memoir of motherhood.Written in the familiar, stream-of-consciousness style of her blog, Big Mama, Sparkly Green Earrings is a heartwarming and hilarious look at motherhood from someone who is still trying to figure it all out. Filled with personal stories--from the decision to become a mother to the heartbreak of miscarriage and ultimately, to the joy of raising a baby and living to tell about it--Sparkly Green Earrings will make you feel like you're sitting across the table from your best friend. A must-read for anyone who's ever had a child or even thought about it.

• Language: English
• Publisher: ChristianAudio.com
• Release date: May 1, 2013
• ISBN: 9781610457378

Melanie Shankle

Melanie Shankle writes regularly at The Big Mama blog and is the New York Times bestselling author of four previous books, including Nobody’s Cuter than You. Melanie is a graduate of Texas A&M and loves writing, shopping at Target, checking to see what’s on sale at Anthropologie, and trying to find the lighter side in every situation. Most of all, she loves being the mother of Caroline, the wife of Perry, and the official herder of two wild dogs named Piper and Mabel. The five of them live in San Antonio, Texas.  

Reviews for Sparkly Green Earrings

[boundtogetherforgood · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Just okay. Focused on motherhood of a single child.

[lauraodom-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was a quick, light read written by mommy blogger, Melanie Shankle (thebigmamablog.com). In fact, the whole thing had a blog feel to it — is that a style now? I guess maybe so. The book provides a comical, sentimental journey of a mother (the author) through the beginning stages of motherhood. I say beginning stages, because it seems that at the time the book ends, the daughter is around 8 years old, so it doesn’t cover the whole parenting gamut, it just catches you up to where she is in her journey. Her writing style is personable and the book reads like you could be catching up with a good friend over coffee.

Although she shares her faith in God throughout the book, I didn’t feel like it was preachy. It just seemed like a natural part of her story. There was nothing too deep or earth shattering to learn from the book. It was more a personal memoir, explaining that parenting takes you places you’d never think you’d go, it’s hard, but oh-so-rewarding. I think this quote from the book sums up its style nicely:

"Along the way, Gulley and I have decided there is really no better indicator you’re a mother than acquiring the ability to catch throw-up in a plastic bag, disinfect your hands, and immediately ask your friend to pass the beef jerky as you put on another Taylor Swift song and act as if nothing has happened."

As I said, a fun, quick read. I gave it 4 of 5 stars.