Woman First, Family Always [Hardcover]

Kathryn Sansone (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 13, 2005

Happily married and the mother of 10, Kathryn Sansone is beautiful, fit, organized, and centered—find out how she really does it in this life-changing book full of inspiration, encouragement, and practical wisdom.

A must-have for mothers, this book is filled with friendly, trustworthy, humorous and heartwarming advice about the importance of taking care of themselves—first and foremost—in order to sustain the ongoing giving to their families. This is Sansone’s unique “Woman First” philosophy.

Sansone provides the real-life wisdom, insight, and confidence a woman needs to battle the inevitable stresses of daily life. Such advice includes setting aside time to get personally grounded and refreshed, writing “love letters” to her children, dealing effectively with school administrators, making sure her husband knows how important he is to the kids, and vice versa.

As a mother of 10, Sansone inspires and motivates women to honor their own needs, overcome obstacles, and experience a more fulfilling, balanced life.

A holistic approach to strengthening the mind, body, and spirit that includes tips in achieving emotional balance, nurturing the spirit, creating a fulfilling marriage, taking care of the body, and raising well-adjusted children.

Sansone speaks to women in a sensible tone with the right balance of warmth, understanding, and humor for today’s harried mother.

Self, Marriage, Family, and Children sections offer quick-read “chats” combined with practical tips and examples from Kathryn’s own busy life.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Kathryn Sansone has been called the “role model for motherood.” She is a wife and mother of 10 children, ranging in age from 8 months to 18 years. This book, Sansone’s first, is her response to the countless women who marveled at her balance and have asked for advice, guidance, and comfort. She’s not “Super Mom,” but she does have an abundance of inspirational and practical tips to offer any woman who wants help finding time for herself, managing her family, and breathing life into her marriage. In addition to her appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show and Inside Edition, Sansone and her family have been featured in O Magazine, Fit Pregnancy, and periodicals in England and Australia. “My life hasn’t been perfect, and neither am I,” says Sansone, “But I seem to have achieved a deep and clear sense of satisfaction with myself and my life.” Kathryn and Jim Sansone live with their children in St. Louis, Missouri.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Meredith Books; First Edition edition (December 13, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0696228327
• ISBN-13: 978-0696228322
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (51 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,401,834 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars I wanted to love it but...., February 7, 2006

By 

Marg Stark "Author, WHAT NO ONE TELLS THE BRIDE" (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Woman First, Family Always (Hardcover)

I could not buy this book fast enough because I adored the title. The "Family First" mantra has always bothered me because it seems to suggest that mom is not a full-fledged member of the family and that everyone else in the family ought to come first, with mom getting the leftovers. I also loved the opening in which Sansone talks about the ups and downs being the normal cycle of family life. That is such a critically important and underappreciated view of life in our society. I also liked the format of the book -- the little nuggets of wisdom in the three main areas of a woman's life.

So in every way I was predisposed to like this book. But I came away a bit disappointed. I really wanted this mother of 10 to show me the premise in action, to make herself vulnerable and demonstrate that family life has its inevitable high highs and low lows, through which you endure and love one another.

Perhaps I should fault her editor for not demanding more "show than tell." Perhaps Sansone is too private a person to reveal more of the struggle. I wholeheartedly agree with Sansone's message -- that moms should not aim for perfection and that we should take care of ourselves amid the mayhem of modern family life. But the message was not nearly as poignantly told as it could have been, if we understood more of Sansone's family's everyday nuttiness, the mistakes and corrections she makes, and the way she lives and forgives herself for "the normal cycle" of family life.

61 of 68 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Some good stuff, some tell-us-something-we-don't-know stuff, January 23, 2006

By 

mommy reader - See all my reviews

This review is from: Woman First, Family Always (Hardcover)

I picked up this book at full price because I REALLY wanted to love it. (Full price is WAY overpriced.) I didn't see Kathryn on Oprah, but I am fascinated by women who have mega children and have it all together. I wanted to give it 5 stars, but could only justify 3. Here's the good: If Kathryn can handle all those kids, I can handle my 4. Her faith in God is so inspiring and she has many of the same traditional values as I do. I can't complain about not having time to exercise anymore -I just need to look at the picture of her family for inspiration. And the emphasis she places on her marriage has opened my eyes, and makes me want to do the same.

Here's the mediocre: We moms know the importance of children brushing their teeth, showing up to our kids' activities and having dry erase boards for scheduling everything. I can't believe how much of the book is about stuff NO PARENT needs to be told. (I'm sure they are a few exceptions.) Kathryn has to be omitting some major information. She says she leaves the house at 8:00 am, but doesn't say what time she needs to get up to get all those kids ready. What about preparing school lunches the night before. I HATE that job, and I only have 4 kids. My kids go to a private school with school uniforms and I am always making sure there are khaki pants and white shirts ready. She hardly mentions laundry. My teenage son sometimes grows out of pants in a month. She doesn't mention all the shopping that she must do. Unless she DOESN'T do it, or the laundry, or the lunches the night before. Maybe she doesn't load up all the little ones in the car in the morning. Maybe there's a nanny. She barely makes mention of a Boot Camp she runs out of her home, but who's watching the kids then? She claims to run around so many hours of the day in her car. How does she run the Boot Camp then? She tells about when she was voted president of the hospital board of directors. (Why the heck did she have this need?) She was feeling a bit(?) overwhelmed and wasn't sure about this new position. Apparently she got through this quandry by just taking a deep breath and staying positive. Gee, why doesn't that work for me? She also takes a bath each night, belongs to a book club, God knows what else, besides working out each day and having monthly pedicures and manicures. And then there's the bit about her having 10 kids. Whew! How did she write this book? Anyway, good for her. I hope some of her calmness and inspiring ways rub off on me and I do plan on keeping this book around for a reminder that if she can manage (with whatever help she has but doesn't mention), so can I. She seems like a lovely person that I would like to know personally.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars you've got to be kidding, May 20, 2006

By 

Gail Brown "Gail" (Fenton, MI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Woman First, Family Always (Hardcover)

This book does have some inspiring advice, to be fair. It's true that we do need to make time for ourselves and have friendships, and sometimes when we get married we forget those things. So I do love that message. But as you continue reading, it becomes a little bit infuriating. It is not humanly possible to accomplish all the tasks in her life and still be a wife and mother. I mean, you do have to make a lot of sacrifices in order to run a household, and she just has so much going on, that it isn't realistically attainable. Here's what I read before closing the book frustrated: She volunteers at hospitals, bakes cookies and sells them, is active in both volleyball and tennis, gets manicures and pedicures, belongs to a book club, wrote a book, goes to the [...] show, goes out with her many girlfriends, drives her kids to and from private school and each of them to and from their separate sporting events and practices, works out in her gym for an hour each day, belongs to the PTA, goes on weekly date nights with her husband, takes care of 2 dogs, 10 kids, a husband, does housework and makes dinner, etc, etc, etc,!! Come on, you must be kidding! I can definitely understand why she says she chose to not breastfeed any of her 10 children. That would have required her to spend time at home!