Bøger af Lisa-Jo Baker

"An honest and lyrical coming-of-age memoir of growing up in South Africa at the height of apartheid, and an invitation to confront our inherited traumas and prejudices so that we may heal the sins of our fathers--from the bestselling author of Never Unfriended. Lisa-Jo Baker knows how burdened we can feel by the weight of the past. Born white in the heart of Zululand during the height of apartheid, her longing to write a new future for her children set her on a journey to understand how she fit into a story of violence and faith, history and race. Before marriage and motherhood, she came to the United States to study to become a human rights advocate. When she naively walked right into America's own turbulent racial landscape, she experienced the kind of painful awakening that is both individual and universal, personal and communal. Yet years would go by before she traced this American trauma back to her own South African past. Baker was a teenager when her mother died of cancer, leaving her with her father. Though they shared a language of faith and justice, she often feared him, unaware that his fierce temper had deep roots in a family's and a nation's pain. Decades later, old wounds reopen when she finds herself spiraling into a terrifying version of her father, screaming herself hoarse at her son. Only then does Baker realize that to go forward--to refuse to repeat the sins of our fathers--we must first go back. Stretching from South Africa's Outback to Washington, D.C., It Wasn't Roaring, It Was Weeping invites readers to look at their inherited hurts and prejudices. It's also a hope-filled guide for all who feel lost in life, worried they're too off-course to make the necessary corrections. Baker assures you, it's never too late to be free"--

A lawyer with a well-stamped passport and a passion for human rights, Lisa-Jo Baker never wanted to be a mom. And then she had kids. Having lost her own mother to cancer as a teenager, Lisa-Jo felt lost on her journey to womanhood and wholly unprepared to raise children.Surprised by Motherhood is Lisa-Jo's story of becoming and being a mom, and in the process, discovering that all the "e;what to expect"e; and "e;how to"e; books in the world can never truly prepare you for the sheer exhilaration, joy, and terrifying love that accompanies motherhood.Set partly in South Africa and partly in the US (with a slight detour to Ukraine along the way), Surprised by Motherhood is a poignant memoir of one woman's dawning realization that being a mom isn't about being perfect-it's about being present.

The best-selling author of Never Unfriended opens up about midlife and what it feels like to have outgrown those teenage jeans-but finally grown into the shape of our souls. "I want to give Lisa-Jo's book a standing ovation."-Aarti Sequeira, chef and TV personality Do you ever wonder how you woke up one day with all the responsibilities of a grown-up who secretly enjoys buying groceries in bulk, can no longer recognize the tween celebrities on the magazines at checkout, but is still surprised when a Starbucks barista calls you "ma'am"-because your inside self is frozen in time to about twenty years ago? So does Lisa-Jo Baker. In these intimate reflections on midlife, Lisa-Jo invites us to get a good look at our middles and gives us permission to embrace them-beyond what the media, the mirror, or the magazines say. Through gutsy, beautiful storytelling, she admits out loud what most of us are thinking about marriage, parenting, the bathroom scale, and how badly we all want to buy those matching Magnolia Market mugs. Her delicious stories come from not being afraid of who she is, because Lisa-Jo knows that the middle might be the best part of the love story of life, kids, faith, doubt, marriage, failure, wonder, and the muffin top-and that these are all good things. She's not asking you to seize the day, just to make sure you actually see it for all its wildly ordinary glory. Welcome to the middle!Praise for The Middle Matters"What a thought-provoking collection of reflections and wisdom! Through personal stories about love, loss, and life in the middle, Lisa-Jo invites us to take a long look inside our own mind's secret nooks and crannies, which aren't nearly as dark, scary, or ordinary as we might think."-Layla Palmer, The Lettered Cottage blog"With captivating wit, hard-won wisdom, and breathtaking honesty, Lisa-Jo has written a love letter to the delicious middle."-Mandy Arioto, president and CEO of MOPS International and author of Have More Fun"With Lisa-Jo's guts as our unfettered guide, may we finally learn the sumptuous truth of our years: that a grilled cheese sandwich without the middle is just toast."-Erin Loechner, founder of OtherGoose and author of Chasing Slow"Thank you, Lisa-Jo, for reminding women everywhere how important it is to find meaning in the midst of the confusing middle."-Joy Prouty, artist and educator