Book Review: Multiples Illuminated

One of the greatest gifts in being a blogger, is connecting with and reading other writer’s words. I’ve talked a lot about many writers I have grown to love and many more I have discovered along the way. When it comes to sharing online, I have presented various books to you, written by dear friends who have a worthy mission and message for us through their words- every one of them full of talent and purpose. I have a stack of books waiting to be read by more beloved writer friends, and I have many more books on my ‘to read’ list, that are all written by women I am honored to know.

One of my favorite types of books are the anthologies. I have shared quite a few on this blog, and I am in a few as well. Anthologies present the reader with a brilliant compilation of writing voices and unique stories within the book’s theme. The great gift in these books is having the perspective of many different views and experiences all in one book. I usually will read one story at a time, let it soak in for a day and come back the next day to read another. To me, it feels like a treasure of little gems I get to unwrap every day and embrace, each with a fresh new color and glow.

This new book I was given to read and share with you, is another anthology- full of such gems written by various talented writers on a topic of being a parent of multiples. I am always in awe of parents who have twins, triplets or even more to raise, because I rarely can manage my own two kids at different ages! “Multiples Illuminated”, was an amazing read because I learned about the various experiences these mothers (And a dad!) have had with this unique journey in parenting.

This anthology includes stories and advice around the topics of infertility, pregnancy, labor and delivery, experiences in the NICU, and those first years that can be quite challenging. I love how the book introduces each section, offering insightful advice and information to help new parents prepare for each particular season in parenting.

There were SO many beautiful and profound stories each author shared in this collection. I was struck by the passion and dedication to the enormous responsibility each parent had in caring for their children. I especially enjoyed reading a variety of experiences in each chapter of the book. Every piece was extraordinary in each personal perspective of parenting multiples. There are moving accounts describing the stories surrounding the discovery of having more than one growing babe in their womb, the excitement and fear and overwhelm of it all and the pregnancies that they endured. There are detailed scenes from the emotional and intense deliveries and the difficult days having their babies in the NICU. There are hilarious conversations and powerful revelations within each mom or dad’s story of having a house full of children to tend to- all bringing me to tears or laughter. I got lost in each one of these chapters, feeling honored to have been invited into their lives.

This book offers such a wealth of experience, insight, and emotion surrounding raising multiples- all from a very personal and intimate perspective. Every author in this book has a gem for us all to unwrap and soak in, as they invite us into their lives and their amazing journey of parenting twins, triplets, and more.

This book is both an incredible resource for all parents with multiples, and also any parent who wants to be inspired and moved by this exceptional collection of parenting stories.

You can order the book on Amazon HERE and Barnes and Noble HERE. And head over to the Facebook page and discover more great content there.

*Newly pregnant women have many questions, and they can usually find them in books. Newly pregnant women with twins/ triplets/ quads have even more questions and find themselves floundering for information, support and help. We want to be excited, but the unknown creeps up like a cold breeze on a hot summer day. People usually do not know what to say to us.

With a lack of knowledge about carrying and raising multiples, we began searching for answers. We scoured the Internet looking for books to teach us about raising multiples. Megan taped every show she could find on the Discovery Channel about multiples. Eight years ago there was not enough good information, but she bought everything she could find (five books in total).

There is one humorous book written by Bruce Stockler called I Sleep at Red Lights about his experience with infant triplets that is a fun and enjoyable read. However, there isn’t a book with beautifully written stories that would give mothers of multiples hope and inspiration, and offer relatable information to arm themselves in this new and exciting, yet lonely and scary world.

We conceived Multiples Illuminated to shed light (see what we did there?) on the world of raising multiples. How we would have appreciated a book like Multiples Illuminated when we were pregnant with our multiples, wondering what life would be like for us.

We wanted to write this book to offer the parents of multiples around the world something delicious to indulge in. There are words of wisdom and personal stories that we hope will inspire you and make you proud to be a part of the world of multiples.

If you read Multiples Illuminated and feel optimistic, inspired, informed, and connected about raising multiples, we have done our job. We are a community of parents who need to think outside the box to successfully raise two or more children simultaneously. 

*This is an excerpt from the Introduction of Multiples Illuminated: A Collection of Stories and Advice From Parents of Twins, Triplets and More and has been published with permission.

(Joining up with the great FTSF Link up partay!)