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Starry-Eyed: Seeing Grace in the Unfolding Constellation of Life and Motherhood
Being a mom is all of light and dark, highs and lows, fever pitch frustration and all-consuming love. By now, you already know that with great love comes great joy . . . and great pain. It can be crazy-making! But it doesn't have to be. In Starry-Eyed, MOPS CEO Mandy Arioto reveals how the brightest and darkest moments of motherhood alike can become a sacred--and sanity-saving--opportunity to encounter God. There is a way to flourish in the midst of it all, and it starts with embracing the light and darkness in life with expectation and awe. Heartening, enchanting, and always unflinchingly honest, Starry-Eyed will show you how to find the unexpected grace in your life as a woman, wife, mother, daughter, sister, and friend. Consider this your heart-to-heart sit-down with a woman who’s been there, and can help you find fresh eyes to see how beauty and pain can mingle with purpose.
- GenresParentingNonfiction
192 pages, Paperback
Published August 30, 2016
19 people are currently reading
151 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
November 27, 2016
In Starry Eyed, MOPS CEO Mandy Arioto reveals how the brightest and darkest moments of motherhood alike can become a sacred and sanity saving opportunity to encounter God. There is a way to flourish in the midst of it all and it starts with embracing the light and darkness in life with expectation and awe. Heatening, enchanting and always unflinchingly honest, Starry-Eyed will show you how to find the unexpected grace in your life as a woman, wife, mother, daughter, sister and friend. Consider your heart to heart sit down with a women who's been there and can help you find fresh eyes to see how beauty and pain can mingle with purpose.
This is a book on seeing grace in life and in motherhood. The essays do touch on a wide variety of topics that I imagine happen often when you are a mother. Disclaimer: I do not yet have any children, but I have many friends and sisters with children. There are a total of 28 chapters, all of which are relatively short, perhaps 4-5 pages. Their titles range from issues of motherhood, marriage, sensuality and feminine power. At the end of each chapter there are a few questions such as, "When do you experience awe in your personal life?" or "How did you feel about darkness and night as a child or teenager?"
I was a bit surprised that the author seems to mention things that are usually associated with zen or new age spiritual practices throughout the book, such as getting in sync with rhythms of nature. That is great advice; taking your shoes off and walking barefoot in your yard is a way to ground yourself. However, this book is marketed as a Christian book and throughout the entire book, there are only 2 references to Biblical scripture, although the author does talk about God frequently. Overall, I personally didn't take away much from this book; the essays are basically stories of happenings in the author's life but didn't really give me a great deal of advice about how to take what she had learned and apply it to my own life. And as for talking about God so frequently, I found it odd that the Bible was barely talked about or referenced. The book does contain a variety of different essays on a variety of topics and if you are looking for a book about finding grace in your life without a lot of Biblical references, I imagine you will enjoy this book! Happy reading!
Thank you to the publisher for sending me a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This is a book on seeing grace in life and in motherhood. The essays do touch on a wide variety of topics that I imagine happen often when you are a mother. Disclaimer: I do not yet have any children, but I have many friends and sisters with children. There are a total of 28 chapters, all of which are relatively short, perhaps 4-5 pages. Their titles range from issues of motherhood, marriage, sensuality and feminine power. At the end of each chapter there are a few questions such as, "When do you experience awe in your personal life?" or "How did you feel about darkness and night as a child or teenager?"
I was a bit surprised that the author seems to mention things that are usually associated with zen or new age spiritual practices throughout the book, such as getting in sync with rhythms of nature. That is great advice; taking your shoes off and walking barefoot in your yard is a way to ground yourself. However, this book is marketed as a Christian book and throughout the entire book, there are only 2 references to Biblical scripture, although the author does talk about God frequently. Overall, I personally didn't take away much from this book; the essays are basically stories of happenings in the author's life but didn't really give me a great deal of advice about how to take what she had learned and apply it to my own life. And as for talking about God so frequently, I found it odd that the Bible was barely talked about or referenced. The book does contain a variety of different essays on a variety of topics and if you are looking for a book about finding grace in your life without a lot of Biblical references, I imagine you will enjoy this book! Happy reading!
Thank you to the publisher for sending me a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
January 22, 2020
Just because this is my cousin’s wife’s book doesn’t mean I’m not going to be totally honest about it.
I loved it.
I didn’t know this side of my family growing up and have in recent years been blessed with their presence. Reading this book gave me an inside glance at a family anyone would want to be apart of or at least friends with. I got to get to know my family even more through the eyes and heart of Mandy. I was able to feel emotionally connected in so many ways from afar and spent a good amount of time crying happy tears.
I’m not religious, but was raised Catholic/Christian, and I don’t have kids. Why would I read this book?! Because my cousin’s wife wrote it and I wanted to because of that reason. However I related to so many things in this book. Related in ways that I saw why I am the way I am from my personal upbringing. I was able to ask myself questions about my feelings and fear and dreams and issues and how I can personally deal with or inspire these feelings.
Mandy is absolutely raw and encompassing in all aspects of her life. Every mom should read this! But make sure to have tissues close by. You’ll be touched in so many ways. All my heart strings were pulled at one point.
There were many things that touched me but most of all was Chapter 18, page 129 and the quote by Catherine M. Wallace. The part about listening to your kids and how the big things are always the BIG THINGS! That if you listen they will always tell you about their big things later in life. It hit me bc I wanted someone to listen to my big things as a child. Because today I keep my big things private. I try to actively listen to big things my friends are going through and cheer them on so they will always tell me good and bad. Ironically the quoted text was from a YouTube video dated on my birthday. So maybe a little bit of synchronicity was in play.
Read this book. It’s full of light and darkness. Love and laughter. But most of all it reminds us we are human.
I loved it.
I didn’t know this side of my family growing up and have in recent years been blessed with their presence. Reading this book gave me an inside glance at a family anyone would want to be apart of or at least friends with. I got to get to know my family even more through the eyes and heart of Mandy. I was able to feel emotionally connected in so many ways from afar and spent a good amount of time crying happy tears.
I’m not religious, but was raised Catholic/Christian, and I don’t have kids. Why would I read this book?! Because my cousin’s wife wrote it and I wanted to because of that reason. However I related to so many things in this book. Related in ways that I saw why I am the way I am from my personal upbringing. I was able to ask myself questions about my feelings and fear and dreams and issues and how I can personally deal with or inspire these feelings.
Mandy is absolutely raw and encompassing in all aspects of her life. Every mom should read this! But make sure to have tissues close by. You’ll be touched in so many ways. All my heart strings were pulled at one point.
There were many things that touched me but most of all was Chapter 18, page 129 and the quote by Catherine M. Wallace. The part about listening to your kids and how the big things are always the BIG THINGS! That if you listen they will always tell you about their big things later in life. It hit me bc I wanted someone to listen to my big things as a child. Because today I keep my big things private. I try to actively listen to big things my friends are going through and cheer them on so they will always tell me good and bad. Ironically the quoted text was from a YouTube video dated on my birthday. So maybe a little bit of synchronicity was in play.
Read this book. It’s full of light and darkness. Love and laughter. But most of all it reminds us we are human.
October 30, 2018
Mandy has put together a beautiful collection of essays on life and motherhood. She makes you feel completely normal and relatable. I love how this book has focused on seeing the good in the darkness. A lot of churches and religious follows tend to only see the light and while that concept is great sometimes the dark needs to be seen and celebrate too. I feel like I do belong in the Christian community even though my views do not match typically Christian views. Mandy makes me feel like it's okay to be the different one at church and see things in a different way. Mandy puts together some really nice motherhood experience to show how light and dark can work together. She opens her soul to us, without worry or fear.
October 24, 2016
[Note: This book was provided free of charge by BookLook/Zondervan. All thoughts and opinions are my own.]
There are a lot of books being released right now and that have been published recently dealing with wives and mothers attempting to justify their messiness and imperfection [1]. This greatly puzzles me for a variety of reasons. For one, it is not only women but men that have to deal with the messiness of life, but it appears that far more women are writing about it in order to justify themselves, as if dealing with messiness and flaws and imperfection, and having too much to do and not enough time, and feeling unable to meet the heavy demands of others around us or the unfriendly scrutiny of other brethren were simply something that women had to deal with, which is not true. Yet even though the problems discussed in this book book are in many ways problems dealt with by men and women alike, by young and old alike, these books are nearly invariably written by women, about women, and for women, with the misguided assumption that only women will read these books. And, given the fact that this is an author who revels in talking about her inability to find fitting bras and her unpredictable periods, it is likely few men would find her book to be of interest, even if the subject she is dealing with in the attempt to provide dignity for others and deal with being under too much stress is something that many people would be interested in or have a great deal of experience in.
The book begins and ends in the same place, reflecting upon the starry sky and the fact that although the darkness is a place where much evil occurs, it is necessary to us as people and it is also something that God created and said was very good. The rest of the book consists of polished and fairly short chapters that deal with the life of the author as a wife and mother, discussing how she met her husband, her struggles to be honest and to encourage honesty and kindness within her children, her attempts to clothe the passages of life with a sense of dignity, her own identification with her own mother, her mourning the death of relatives, her friendships, mostly with other women but at least one friendship with a gentle and eligible bachelor who is very good with kids, her willingness to raise kids without a lot of the harsh boundaries and demands that are commonly made, and so on. The author, like many authors of her kind, shows her authenticity by talking about a lot of unpleasant aspects of her own life, including the time in college she dated four guys at the same time until that fell apart, and including her love of shows like Dancing With The Stars as well as her rapturous enjoyment of a Train concert at Red Rocks, which is something many people would find uncool but which I can totally understand would be a spiritual experience.
There is much to enjoy about this book, if one is willing to understand that it is written by a women who has no idea or inclination that this book will be read by readers outside of the messy mommy set. Obviously, as is the case with any kind of memoir like this one, the more one shares in common with the author the better one will be able to relate to this book, but unlike many other books which are a lot less polished this one is well written and not too rambling. The author shows her familiarity with other works and with other authors of similar books, which is not particularly surprising either, and has dedicated this book and its proceeds to helping give dignity to other moms around the world as part of a not-for-profit organization called MOPS. There are, though, definitely some matters to be concerned about here, including the author's seeming friendliness and comfort with various "Mother God" sort of heresies, a desire for matriarchy, and a fondness for heathen Celtic religious practices. These are obviously some red flags, as they present the author as having gone too far in seeking to dignify women. That is a shame, but is something that must be noted anyway. It is a difficult matter to live in such a way that we honor God according to what He says in scripture, and not to depart from his path either to the right or to the left, and it is little wonder that many of us should err so often in this task.
[1] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
There are a lot of books being released right now and that have been published recently dealing with wives and mothers attempting to justify their messiness and imperfection [1]. This greatly puzzles me for a variety of reasons. For one, it is not only women but men that have to deal with the messiness of life, but it appears that far more women are writing about it in order to justify themselves, as if dealing with messiness and flaws and imperfection, and having too much to do and not enough time, and feeling unable to meet the heavy demands of others around us or the unfriendly scrutiny of other brethren were simply something that women had to deal with, which is not true. Yet even though the problems discussed in this book book are in many ways problems dealt with by men and women alike, by young and old alike, these books are nearly invariably written by women, about women, and for women, with the misguided assumption that only women will read these books. And, given the fact that this is an author who revels in talking about her inability to find fitting bras and her unpredictable periods, it is likely few men would find her book to be of interest, even if the subject she is dealing with in the attempt to provide dignity for others and deal with being under too much stress is something that many people would be interested in or have a great deal of experience in.
The book begins and ends in the same place, reflecting upon the starry sky and the fact that although the darkness is a place where much evil occurs, it is necessary to us as people and it is also something that God created and said was very good. The rest of the book consists of polished and fairly short chapters that deal with the life of the author as a wife and mother, discussing how she met her husband, her struggles to be honest and to encourage honesty and kindness within her children, her attempts to clothe the passages of life with a sense of dignity, her own identification with her own mother, her mourning the death of relatives, her friendships, mostly with other women but at least one friendship with a gentle and eligible bachelor who is very good with kids, her willingness to raise kids without a lot of the harsh boundaries and demands that are commonly made, and so on. The author, like many authors of her kind, shows her authenticity by talking about a lot of unpleasant aspects of her own life, including the time in college she dated four guys at the same time until that fell apart, and including her love of shows like Dancing With The Stars as well as her rapturous enjoyment of a Train concert at Red Rocks, which is something many people would find uncool but which I can totally understand would be a spiritual experience.
There is much to enjoy about this book, if one is willing to understand that it is written by a women who has no idea or inclination that this book will be read by readers outside of the messy mommy set. Obviously, as is the case with any kind of memoir like this one, the more one shares in common with the author the better one will be able to relate to this book, but unlike many other books which are a lot less polished this one is well written and not too rambling. The author shows her familiarity with other works and with other authors of similar books, which is not particularly surprising either, and has dedicated this book and its proceeds to helping give dignity to other moms around the world as part of a not-for-profit organization called MOPS. There are, though, definitely some matters to be concerned about here, including the author's seeming friendliness and comfort with various "Mother God" sort of heresies, a desire for matriarchy, and a fondness for heathen Celtic religious practices. These are obviously some red flags, as they present the author as having gone too far in seeking to dignify women. That is a shame, but is something that must be noted anyway. It is a difficult matter to live in such a way that we honor God according to what He says in scripture, and not to depart from his path either to the right or to the left, and it is little wonder that many of us should err so often in this task.
[1] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
May 15, 2019
Decent writing. Fine theme. A bit WASP-Y. Some parts are inspired - others are concerning. Take out chaps. 4&13 and I could almost recommend it without reservation. But alas, won’t be recommending today.
September 8, 2019
I love @mandyarioto and her writing, spunk and love for and as the President and CEO of MOPS International. Mom friends go pick up a copy of this or her Have More Fun book (or borrow mine) and be encouraged.
May 11, 2025
How have I not read this before now? Listened to the audiobook and loved every minute. This is possibly the most grounding, breath-of-fresh-air book for mothers everywhere. Loved the Audible version, but also the paperback so I can journal along with the questions at the end of each chapter!
October 22, 2018
Truly enjoyed this
January 4, 2019
I really enjoyed her Outlook and how her words flowed throughout the book.
July 5, 2019
4.5 stars. Love love love the writing in this book about motherhood, spirituality, imperfection, and embracing our light and dark moments 💗
July 30, 2020
Beautiful book
September 15, 2020
A wonderful book for mothers of young children who may feel isolated or like they cannot seem to get anything right. This spiritual and uplifting book gives mothers a fresh new perspective!
February 11, 2021
This spoke to my soul. Great encouragement for a mama’s heart.
September 26, 2022
As a mother; this book sparked my true love for reading! Mandy is a phenomenal mother and the CEO of moms of preschoolers! I loved this read so much
April 3, 2017
For some reason, it was hard for me to get through, but it was a great book.
December 12, 2016
“Loving big takes courage. … It moves intentionally toward relationships instead of finding differences. It refuses to believe there isn’t hope. And it leaves a door open just enough to let the light shine through so no one feels afraid.”
Every mother needs encouragement every now and again. Motherhood is hard at times and finding other mothers to talk to can make it a bit easier. MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) is a group that offers support to mothers and this year they came out with a devotional-type book to go along with the curriculum they offer the group members worldwide. Each member gets a book with membership that has short blurbs, but Starry-Eyed is a more in-depth book.
I decided to buy the book since I’ve enjoyed the topics covered by MOPS as a member last year. There are 28 chapters in the book and I read one chapter a day during the work-week. Each chapter has thought-provoking questions at the end for those who journal or want to dig deeper.
Read more here: http://sarahannecarter.com/starry-eye...
Every mother needs encouragement every now and again. Motherhood is hard at times and finding other mothers to talk to can make it a bit easier. MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) is a group that offers support to mothers and this year they came out with a devotional-type book to go along with the curriculum they offer the group members worldwide. Each member gets a book with membership that has short blurbs, but Starry-Eyed is a more in-depth book.
I decided to buy the book since I’ve enjoyed the topics covered by MOPS as a member last year. There are 28 chapters in the book and I read one chapter a day during the work-week. Each chapter has thought-provoking questions at the end for those who journal or want to dig deeper.
Read more here: http://sarahannecarter.com/starry-eye...
February 24, 2017
A collection of essays on seeing, living and embracing the lightness and darkness of life. As my sister said, "some of them I wanted the chapter to keep going and others not so much" Lots of good reflection and there is one chapter that I would love to photo copy and give to every mom I run into. A good read...at our library!
August 30, 2016
Unfortunately, I did not find this book to be as advertised at all. First, I did not find the book to match the description online or on its back cover. Second and more concerning, I did not find this book to be what I would expect from either the CEO of a widely-recognized Christian ministry or a Christian publishing company. In my opinion, this book is 2 Timothy 4:3-4 coming to pass before my very eyes. Those verses say, "For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths." Ms. Arioto's writing seems to point readers to numerous different faith traditions without ever clearly pointing them to Christ. In one afternoon's readings alone, she included a mommy blogger for whom astrology is a central art of her life and who follows the "noble eightfold path"; Albert Schweitzer; humanist Catherine M. Wallace; Jungian psychoanalyst Clarissa Pinkola Estes; a publishing company who publishes materials to help "interest seekers" look at "religion in new ways" and to help them "create ways for those committed to a specific religion to learn from the spirituality of other traditions"; the Essene Book of Days; spiritual healer William John Fitzgerald; and Carl Sagan. She even goes so far as to assert that we are all made of star dust. The fact that this book was written by the CEO of a well-known Christian ministry, is being advertised extensively through that same ministry, and was published by a Christian publishing house is frightening to me for it does not support a Christian worldview or the truth of John 14:6 that Jesus is the only way to the Father. I fear that this book will lead many unsuspecting young moms astray.
September 25, 2016
Starry-Eyed by Mandy Arito is a book of essays on seeing grace in the unfolding constellation of life and motherhood.
I have a difficult time reviewing this book as the essays are good and do touch on everything a mother encounters. But being written by the MOPS CEO and published by a Christian publisher I was surprised to find this more of a new age zen-like book than a Christian one. While that in itself wouldn't be so much of a bad thing, it is not what the description of the book states, "the brightest and darkest moments of motherhood alike can become a sacred—and sanity-saving— opportunity to encounter God. There is a way to flourish in the midst of it all, and it starts with embracing the light and darkness in life with expectation and awe."
This book does mention God but also touts astrology, spiritual healers, and many other faith traditions different from Christianity. If it was touted as just a mothering book I would have had no issues, but I expected it to be completely different based off the description so was left confused on how this was classified as a Christian book.
This book was given to me by BookLook Bloggers in exchange for my honest review.
I have a difficult time reviewing this book as the essays are good and do touch on everything a mother encounters. But being written by the MOPS CEO and published by a Christian publisher I was surprised to find this more of a new age zen-like book than a Christian one. While that in itself wouldn't be so much of a bad thing, it is not what the description of the book states, "the brightest and darkest moments of motherhood alike can become a sacred—and sanity-saving— opportunity to encounter God. There is a way to flourish in the midst of it all, and it starts with embracing the light and darkness in life with expectation and awe."
This book does mention God but also touts astrology, spiritual healers, and many other faith traditions different from Christianity. If it was touted as just a mothering book I would have had no issues, but I expected it to be completely different based off the description so was left confused on how this was classified as a Christian book.
This book was given to me by BookLook Bloggers in exchange for my honest review.
August 2, 2016
This book is filled with a rawness and honesty that is rarely experienced, but deeply needed, among women and mothers. Mandy writes with such openness about the good that can come from experiencing both the good and the bad in life, the light and the dark, and how to find goodness even in the midst of the dark. She challenges the reader to make sure she is completely experiencing life with all its ups and downs, not just surviving day to day. Through everything from deeply personal stories to just some funny experiences, she encourages the reader to open herself up to the people and things around them, and to find out what life feels like when it is truly lived. I love the lessons Mandy shares, and I love a book that encourages me to live a better life. The book is also perfect for a book club or group experience, as the follow up questions for each chapter encourage both great conversation and personal reflection.
September 28, 2016
It's hard to rate a series of essays - some were wonderful and others fell a bit flat. The ones where she talks about how she and her husband live out their faith in front of their kids was a favorite. She talks about the importance of sharing stories and forming a rich family narrative. Perhaps it's because Bea is very much into asking for stories from my childhood right now, but that resonated deeply. It's something I should take seriously and remember that these stories form a foundation of our family.
Others fell flat - talking about being a "salty" person and surrounding herself with others who have flavor felt a bit othering. Perhaps it's because I'm not a very salty person at all, but I wondered about those other flavors that aren't as cool.
**I received this book free from the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion.**
Others fell flat - talking about being a "salty" person and surrounding herself with others who have flavor felt a bit othering. Perhaps it's because I'm not a very salty person at all, but I wondered about those other flavors that aren't as cool.
**I received this book free from the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion.**
June 18, 2016
This little book of essays offers big thoughts on the interplay of dark and light within the reader’s inner life, marriage, mothering, and relationship with the Divine. The curiosity, vulnerability, and honesty found in Mandy’s writing encourages me to bring these same traits into my own life. I look forward to returning to Starry-Eyed and using each essay and its accompanying questions as prompts for daily or weekly meditation and journaling. For those looking for a book that will offer opportunities for thoughtful discussion in a women’s book club or group-study time, Starry-Eyed is a great choice.
September 22, 2016
I really liked this book. it was one that I felt I could read easily during practices at soccer for the kids and relate to things. Some fluff which I didn't like as much but some real things. I think the extra star I give it is because I am in MOPS and so have a deeper connection to seeing it in action in a community. Read the full review here: http://bit.ly/MandySE
October 23, 2016
loved it!
I choose 5 stars because Mandy has a talent with words. I enjoyed the constellation theme. Many people say it isn't a christian book because it speaks of other religions or things of that nature. So what. I think you will enjoy this book if your religious or not.
I choose 5 stars because Mandy has a talent with words. I enjoyed the constellation theme. Many people say it isn't a christian book because it speaks of other religions or things of that nature. So what. I think you will enjoy this book if your religious or not.
January 28, 2017
Beautifully crafted languages, touches on a wide range of topics. The essay format does leave a little to be desired--sometimes I felt the chapters ended right as they were getting to the really valuable stuff.
August 31, 2016
This book will help you look at life's hurdles in a new way. It will stretch your mind and your heart. There's great discussion questions after each chapter if you want to do a book study.
August 3, 2016
A collection of short essays about the wonder of life and motherhood. Each chapter could stand alone and has questions for response at the end.
October 11, 2016
MOPS theme book for 2016/17. It is the best one I have read. I feel inspired
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March 5, 2019I loved this book! My favourite part was hearing Mandy read the book herself. I love when authors read their own books!
The perspective and mindset of seeing the darkness in our lives as something other than negative is so counter culture and I loved it. To embrace the dark times of our life and use them to truly experience happy, whole lives is challenging but rewarding.
Mandy shares different stories, funny, sad, and relatable that all come together in a way that flows so beautifully in the way she’s written the book. It’s a must read for anyone.
The perspective and mindset of seeing the darkness in our lives as something other than negative is so counter culture and I loved it. To embrace the dark times of our life and use them to truly experience happy, whole lives is challenging but rewarding.
Mandy shares different stories, funny, sad, and relatable that all come together in a way that flows so beautifully in the way she’s written the book. It’s a must read for anyone.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews