Customer Reviews

My Monastery Is a Minivan: Where the Daily Is Divine and the Routine Becomes Prayer

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I was fed up and frazzled with being "just a stay at home Mom" when My Monastery is a Minivan was recommended to me. I was angered and frustrated believing that the co-op preschool demands, a constantly messy house, and the needs of my boys kept me from delving deep into a connection with the Divine. Within the first pages of reading this life-altering book I cried, first slow tears then they just wouldn't stop -- of course I was in public. I didn't care. I snorted, laughed, and cried until finally crusty layers fell from my heart.

My spirituality is earth-based and the cornerstone of my writing. But I was blocked to my connection to Mother Earth and God because I had failed to find the connection with my two greatest gifts from Spirit - my children. Parenting books usually make me feel further isolated because they hold up such a vision of perfection. This book made me feel good enough and then some. The 35 examples illustrated how to see Divinity in raising children, with laughter, reverence, and appreciation. Now I laugh more, enjoy more and smile more. My faith and trust has been restored. My boys have blossomed with my regained appreciation of our time together. And though I still get bored from time to time, I am not so dramatic about it. Recommend this book to parents of all religions, creeds, and cultures. It is a great gift.

I bought this book because I saw a notice that it had been awarded First Place as Family Life Book of the Year by the Catholic Press Association. I loved reading it -- and I recommend it to people of all religious traditions. The stories will make you laugh and cry, and they'll help you "find God in ALL things." As I read it, I came to realize that what I do as a parent really matters. Even my children like this book -- because it made their mom slow down and have more fun with them!

Reading this book changed my way of seeing the world. It made me laugh out loud, cry with sadness, and open up more to live my life with deeper compassion. In her acknowledgments, Denise Roy mentions that she was inspired by many of my own favorite authors: Anna Quindlen, Anne Lamott, Rachel Naomi Remen, Anne Dillard, Thich Nhat Hanh. I'd recommend books written by these wonderful authors, and I'd add this book to my list of highly recommended books.

Some books, like the Tao Te Ching or Annie Dillard's "For the Time Being", are best read in chapters. Each chapter invites reflection. "My Monastery is a Minivan" is one of those books. Although not as profound as the Tao or as complex as "Time Being", this book immediately pulled me into a calm, contemplative place. It's the kind of book I'd keep at the bedside and read slowly. Unfortunately for that plan, I sped though it in a day. I was caught up in Ms Roy's blend of humor and frustration, the profound with the mundane. Having read my copy, I came back to Amazon.com to send copies to two friends, and finding no review, wrote this for you. As a note of caution, I should say that before reading you should have 1) changed diapers, 2) tried to hold an intellectual conversation with a 2-year old, and 3) been vexed by a teenager. If you haven't done all three (and don't want to), stick with the Tao and Ms Dillard. If you're in (or could join) the minivan set, enjoy.

I can honestly say that this book made me laugh and cry more than any other book I've ever read. Sitting in the doctor's waiting room, I was laughing hysterically, and the whole office wanted to know what I was reading. Other chapters are so wonderfully compassionate and inspiring; after reading a few of these, my way of seeing the world changed. I highly recommend this book if you want to experience real joy and feel a deeper connection with all in your life. Its message is simple and yet profound.

When you threw the book out, I wish you'd thrown it to me. I'd love to be able to afford to send this book to all of the moms in my acquaintance. Full of life, wit, wisdom, it tells us that our holy place is inside, that God is present in all we do, that there is grace and spirituality in each everyday thing we do. How much more Catholic can you get. The wisdom of Denise Roy is the same wisdom of Saint Teresa. Seek to do everyday things in a loving, worshipful way. There is great beauty in that. Amen

This book was most enjoyable to read. It gave a lot of insights into finding God in the everyday activity of life. Even though I am a guy and do not have a Catholic background I found that I could relate to the stories. Enjoy.

I found Roy's book to be an excellent pause in my raceway of a week. Some of the stories made me laugh aloud and recall the lighter moments of my own motherhood. She starts out with some humor, but by the end of the book is dealing with the "meat" of why I ordered the book. I have been struggling with the spirituality of parenthood, knowing this task is one of the greatest on Earth, yet often feels like the movie "Ground-Hog Day" playing over and over again as juice is spilled yet one more time in the living room. I am more than just a Mom, and this book affirmed my soul. I am ordering another copy for my friend, a pastor and mother of three.

Finally, a book full of stories that really say something meaningful! I was immediately captured by the author's unique way of weaving everyday life events into beautiful, spiritual disoveries. It was entertaining, soulful, and best of all I could relate to it. This is a must for all moms and dads (young and old) -- it will reaffirm the significance of their life's work as parents!!

My Monastery Is A Minivan is a wonderfully readable collection of thirty-five thoroughly enjoyable short stories by author Denise Roy, all of which share the common theme of how family togetherness can bring great spiritual rewards. Spiritual lessons can be so broad as to encompass such mundane activities as driving, breathing, music, and just plain living in these heart warming accounts. My Monastery Is A Minivan is a touching, soulful, inspiring anthology of the many ways any Christian can turn daily routine into divine prayer and submission.