Tag Archives: Bobbi Junior

Review: When the Bough Breaks, by Bobbi Junior

When the Bough Breaks, by Bobbi Junior (Angel Hope Publishing, 2016)

Nothing can prepare parents for the pain of losing an infant, either during pregnancy or following the birth. Bobbi Junior’s brief memoir about the death of her second child shortly after birth is, on the one hand, one couple’s personal story, and on the other hand, a window on how friends and loved ones can offer support to the grieving parents.

Told in short, conversational chapters, each charmingly illustrated by Ramona Furst, this is a quick read with a good take-away. Readers learn some of the things not to say, and in fact that it’s okay to say nothing but to be present in silence and with tears.

The book includes simple and practical things, too, creative means of comfort that worked for the Junior family and which may work for others. As the author points out, though, every person’s grief is different.

Favourite line:

Like carefully pushing aside a spider web before it could cling to me, I took great care in moving the comment aside before passing it by. I wouldn’t forget it, but I wouldn’t wear it, either. [On dealing with an unintentionally hurtful comment, page 29]

Bobbi Junior is also the author of The Reluctant Caregiver. For more about the author and her work, or to check out her blog, visit bobbijunior.com.

[Review copy from my personal library.]

5 Blogs to Watch

2 Replies

How do you keep up with a blog series? I subscribe via email, because I’d never remember to check the site on a regular basis. And if the series has been going for a while before I find it, I’m unlikely to go back to the beginning to catch up.

Here are three new-ish blog series in early enough stages that you can start from the beginning if they catch your interest:

At Serving Singles, Rev. Shirley DeMerchant has just begun a series where she’ll explore what she’s been learning from studying the book Emotionally Healthy Spirituality by Peter Scazzero. Since this is a book I’ve heard recommended in the past, I’m seizing this chance to learn a bit more.

Author Janice L. Dick is moving from traditional publishing to indie (self-publishing) and she’ll be sharing her journey in a series of Tuesday posts. For those interested in the possibilities of independent publishing, here’s post 1: My Indie Adventure.

Author Bobbi Junior is blogging her memoir, When the Bough Breaks, chapter by chapter. Here’s the link to chapter 1: Nothing Rattles Rick.

And here are two of my favourite blogs which, while they aren’t series blogs, I count on for regular spiritual encouragement:

Hearing the Heartbeat with Carolyn Watts (Mondays).

Beech Croft Tales with Mary Waind (on the 1st and 15th of each month).

Review: The Reluctant Caregiver, by Bobbi Junior

The Reluctant Caregiver, by Bobbi Junior (Word Alive Press, 2014)

I knew this was a book I’d value, from the dedication:

Dedicated to my brother, husband and children, who never said “You should…”

And to Jesus, who said, “Let me.”

On one level, this is a memoir of one woman’s struggle to demonstrate the love of Christ to her mother, Nancy, who has dementia. Without a power of attorney in place, Bobbi Junior and her brother, Lawrence, can’t take the conventional advice to “put her in a home.” As a Christian, Bobbi feels called to treat her mother with love and dignity, even though they had a difficult relationship since Bobbi’s childhood.

On another level, it’s a story for every Christian walking in a hard place.

The Reluctant Caregiver is transparent about Bobbi’s ongoing battles with her attitudes, fears, and the desire to take charge. Most of the time, she rises to the challenge in a way that will have many readers shaking their heads in admiration (and a few readers putting the book down, angry that she doesn’t retaliate or walk away).

When she fails, or when she’s floundering, her journal entries give us clues to how we might handle similar experiences. (What? You haven’t failed or floundered lately?)

The book reads like a journal-style novel, and I found myself reading every chance I could. It offers insight not only into the difficult role of a caregiver but also into the pain of an intelligent woman who knows she can’t think straight anymore – and who now berates herself as “stupid.”

The chief take-away is that we can’t manage life’s challenges in our own strength, but that Jesus is ready to take the lead if we’ll only let Him. Because we’re human, this is a day-to-day or minute-by-minute process. We get better at it, but only in the sense that practice helps us learn to turn to Him more readily.

The Reluctant Caregiver is a valuable resource for Christians who are or who will become caregivers, and for those who find it easier to take control than to surrender it to God. I’m in a wide-open space in my life right now, but even in my small stresses I found Bobbi’s prayers and journal entries showed me a better way. I’m challenged to walk closer with Jesus and to ask Him to show me His way instead of insisting my own. Even in the little things, it’s hard to do.

Bobbi Junior is a Canadian author and speaker who shares what she’s learning about life and caregiving at her website: bobbijunior.com.

[Review copy from the public library.]