Most women dream about having a family and building a home. We grow up on a steady diet of fairy tales and chick flicks that drive our dreams—and leave us with a sugarcoated version of reality. We want it all: the prince, the kiss, the proposal, the ring, the castle, and eventually, the kids in smocked rompers playing cheerfully on the perfectly manicured lawn. Our hopes and dreams are pinned on the world's version of happily-ever-after.
The problem is, fairy tales and chick flicks end where real life begins. We never see that follow-up scene where the prince and princess argue at 3 a.m. over who will get up with the colicky newborn. Or the princess reluctantly returns to work to help pay the bills and feels stress of juggling work and family. And you certainly won't see that part where the princess moves her last child into the dorm and realizes the bulk of her identity has been based on being a mother.
In Ever After, best-selling author Vicki Courtney addresses the realities of marriage and motherhood, the difficulties and the blessings. She offers women a behind the scenes glimpse of what a fairy tale really looks like on the average day for the average wife and mom. Poignant, funny, and even cathartic, Vicki shares mistakes made, lessons learned, and memories to keep. Most of all, she reflects the hope that Christ meets us wherever we are in the journey, and that He alone is the answer to the happily-ever-after we long for.
