A Review: "Longing for Paris" by Sarah Mae

Sarah Mae's latest book, "Longing for Paris:  One Woman's Search for Joy, Beauty, and Adventure--Right Where She Is", focuses on that longing for something for more than life as usual. For Sarah, that something more comes in the form of Paris. She became fascinated by Paris as a child, listening to stories told by her grandmother and mother of the years they spent living there. "It is this longing for Paris that leads me to explore my deeper longings" (p. xxv). Sarah takes nine chapters to examine some of the deeper longings commonly felt by women. Things like slowing life down and enjoying the simple pleasures, beauty and fashion, marriage, motherhood, and the idea of home are all discussed with hints of Paris and French culture thrown in. Weaving Scripture throughout, Sarah does a fabulous job of exploring these longings. It's especially helpful to know that these longings are common and that we are not alone in feeling them!

The end of each chapter includes a brief section of further meditation thoughts and a Scripture for deeper pondering. She also includes a "An Invitation to Paris" with some tips on bringing a bit of Paris to our everyday lives. The book also includes a group discussion guide which would be perfect for a small group or book club to work through. This was a great read and I found myself resonating with much of what she shared. I particularly appreciated her thoughts on motherhood, especially a section on discipline and identifying love languages.

(I’ve received this complimentary book from Tyndale House Publishers in exchange for a review. A positive review was not required and the views expressed in my review are strictly my own.)