@Home for the Holidays (Life, Faith & Getting It Right #16) (Steeple Hill Cafe) [Paperback]

Meredith Efken (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2006

'Tis the season to be jolly?

Sitting by the fireside, humming carols and knitting mittens . . . not! For these stay-at-home moms, the weeks before Christmas are anything but mellow. How can you balance housework, home crises and the husband without losing your mind? Plug in your laptop!

Meet Dulcie, Zelia, Jocelyn, Rosalyn, Veronica and the rest of the women of SAHM I Am. An e-mail loop of stay-at-home moms, they've seen each other through months of domestic drama: babies who won't come, bills that won't leave, kids who won't listen and spouses who won't talk. Now, as the yuletide approaches, the SAHms are on hand once again, bearing gifts of sisterhood, sanity and the real Christmas spirit.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Like its predecessor, Sahm I Am, this charming holiday novel tracks the e-mail correspondence of a group of stay-at-home moms. As Christmas approaches, their stress levels increase exponentially, but they have friendship and much laughter to sustain them. The women deal with humorous things, like children who get Polly Pockets shoes lodged up their noses, but also with weighty issues: unemployment, decreased sex drive, infertility, cheating spouses and the ups and downs of both pregnancy and adoption. Efken nails the characters' various voices and keeps the pacing brisk, lacing some uproariously funny moments amid the ladies' virtual sturm und drang. Her skillful satire of Rosalyn, the self-righteous and controlling list moderator whose own family is secretly falling apart, is delicious, and she offers a balanced and loving take on gender roles, faith and child-rearing. Both stay-at-home and working Christian moms will recognize their struggles here, and feel the novel's lighthearted humor lessening their load. (Oct. 24)
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Review

"Erma Bombeck was a funny lady, but Meredth Efken is even funnier." -- Christy Award-winning author Randy Ingermanson

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 390 pages
• Publisher: Steeple Hill (November 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0373785704
• ISBN-13: 978-0373785704
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,931,072 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

MEREDITH EFKEN is the author of the critically acclaimed SAHM I Am series that traces the friendship of a group of stay-at-home mothers through their emails to each other. She has been a finalist for the Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice award and the ACFW Book of the Year award, and critics use phrases like "charming," "fresh," and "pure delight" to describe her humorous yet insightful comedies.

Her newest book, Lucky Baby, broadens her literary horizons with a story full of mystical and spiritual wonder about an American family that adopts a child from China and the blind orphan girl who strives to create a family for herself in a lonely world.

In addition to writing, Meredith is also owner of the Fiction Fix-It Shop, which offers freelance fiction editing and writing coaching, with the mission of encouraging other writers to reach their full potential. She serves on the steering team of her local writers' group and volunteers as an online teacher for American Christian Fiction Writers.

In her "spare" time, she and her husband enjoy learning Argentine tango and hanging out at the local bookstore. She studies Chinese and Welsh on a semi-random basis and plays keyboard and sings with her church's worship band. She and her husband have two lively daughters, one very naughty snowshoe cat and one very lazy Great Dane. They all live in a ramshackle Victorian fixer-upper in Nebraska.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars FUN AND FRIENDSHIP: THE EMAIL WAY, January 25, 2007

By 

Heather Ivester (Georgia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: @Home for the Holidays (Life, Faith & Getting It Right #16) (Steeple Hill Cafe) (Paperback)

If you've ever been in an email discussion loop, you'll fit right in with cyber-girlfriends, Dulcie, Zelia, Jocelyn, Veronica, and Rosalyn. Fans of Efken's first mom-lit novel, SAHM I Am, will find plenty to laugh about in this snappy yuletide tale.

The quick-paced email exchanges between these stay-home moms make for hilarious reading as they try to balance housework, family crisis, and the impending holiday madness.

Though the book is uproariously funny, Efken delves into important issues, such as struggles with infertility, postpartum depression, going back to work, discipline problems, and isolation. If you're a woman who plugs in a laptop to stay connected and sane, this jolly faith-filled novel will keep you turning the pages.

-- Christian Women Online Book Buzz

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Meredith Efken has done it again!, December 5, 2006

By 

Deborah "Books, Movies and Chinese Food" (Fairfax, VA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: @Home for the Holidays (Life, Faith & Getting It Right #16) (Steeple Hill Cafe) (Paperback)

She has put out another book that I proceeded to finish in just a few hours. I was actually in the process of reading two other books, but I dropped them both to read this one. It was definitely worth it. I declare it tied for best book of the year!

In @Home, the sequel to SAHM I AM, we again are meeting up with members of the SAHM (stay at home moms) email group. Rosalyn is now on better terms with her sister Veronica but the two are still at it with their sibling rivalry. They propose to hold a contest as to who can have more readership with their posts, while each facing their own personal situations. Dulice finds herself in the position as a working mom while her husband has become a SAHD. Zelia is in the process of adopting two children from Zimbabwe while Brenna is trying her luck with egg donation adoption. Then there's also Jocelyn who's slowly busying herself to death, Paige who has to take over for her pastor husband who's fallen ill, and Marianne, the newest member who finds herself with the baby blues and a very unruly 2 year old. The women still find time to get together and talk about everything through the email loop.

I looooooooved this book. It's so addictive to read because there are no chapters to stop at. I found everyone's story funny, sad, touching, and very very real. The only thing I didn't like was the attitudes of some of the women when Dulcie was talking about her work experience. While it's understandable that things have changed with her life, it still wasn't fair for the group to gang up on her and accuse her for not being true to herself. I don't think it's right for people to tell others what to do simply because that is what work for their own selves. Dulcie enjoyed going to work, the other women should not have put guilt trips on her for doing so. There were some times I wanted to strangle Rosalyn with her snobbishness but at least this time we had Veronica there to tell her off about it. The sisters' relationship was very funny and realistic. I really enjoyed reading this book. It's such a fun and easy and enjoyable read and it helped to get me in the holiday spirit.

(i also must confess that I never got the hang of the Christmas song game and only figured it out after I visited Meredith's website and saw the answer *sheepish look*.)

5.0 out of 5 stars great book, January 17, 2011

By 

Angie Link (Boca Raton, FL) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: @ home for the holidays (Kindle Edition)

this is the 2nd book and I love it just as much as the first book. Can't wait to read the 3rd book. I ordered it from Amazon too.