Wonderful! Brilliant! A treasure! Can I praise this book highly enough?! I am so excited to finally find a book about personal development for homemakers that is gentle, non judgmental, accessible to anyone and grounded in anthroposophy!

Veronika van Duin has written a number of wonderful books on homemaking, but these have mainly been about her experience as a Camphill housemother and have required the reader not only to be thoroughly versed in anthroposophy, but to understand Camphill culture as well. (Camphill Communities are intentional communities based on the curative work of Rudolf Steiner and Karl Konig). I have often wished that Veronika van Duin would take her profound knowledge of what it means to be a homemaker and write a book with a broader appeal. Well, it seems that she must have heard me – for this is just that book.

Here is an excerpt from the blurb on the back cover. The long list at the end is actually the titles of the book’s chapters:

…from humble feelings Veronika van Duin writes, offering support and hope for fellow homemakers. She reveals the discoveries that have provided her, and many others she has taught in workshops and courses, with the basic life tools for overcoming personal hindrances. In this wonderfully uplifting book, van Duin gives exercises for restoring balance, maintaining equilibrium, discovering understanding, creating joy, validating feeling, maintaining vitality and drive, developing insight, finding freedom, and much more.

Pretty tall order for one small book! But once you read it, I think you’ll agree that Veronika van Duin succeeds, in a gently affirming way, to help each of us on our path as a homemaker, no matter our background or the challenges we face.

Note: February 2010 – join us on the Waldorf at Home discussion forum for an in-depth study of this book led by Donna Simmons.