Reviewed by Pattie Reitz

Many of us know what it’s like to be a stay-at-home mom. Most of us know what it’s like to be part of email loops, both large and small. Meredith Efken has captured the best—and some of the worst—of both worlds perfectly in her mom lit book SAHM I Am (Steeple Hill Café, 2005).

Rosalyn is the nearly-perfect list moderator for “SAHM I Am,” an impossibly-large email loop for Christian stay-at-home moms. The characters we grow to love are actually a part of a smaller sub-group they’ve titled “Green Eggs and Ham” : Dulcie, the wife of a workaholic husband; Zelia, a free-spirited, artistic woman; Jocelyn, a typical soccer mom; farmer’s wife Brenna, who was a teen mom; pastor’s wife Phyllis; and Veronica, Rosalyn’s younger sister.

When I finished the book, I wrote on my blog: “This woman GETS it. In multiple personalities, no less!” How Efken keeps so many distinct email “voices” going for the entire book is nothing short of amazing.

The unique format of this book adds to its charm. It is just like lurking in an email group! It is so much fun to unravel all the different relationships, email threads, conversations, and tensions. These women are portrayed so accurately and with such wit and humor that it’s very difficult to put this book down. I was annoyed by Rosalyn’s aphorisms, chuckled at Veronica’s digs at her sister, cried over Phyllis’s parsonage pain, understood Zelia’s desire to conquer creative clutter, and felt like Dulcie was a woman I could really relate with.

The support the “Green Eggs and Ham” women show each other is very much like the community we have here at Women @ Home. The women pray together over the challenges they face: unemployment, clutter, child’s illness, infertility, and many others. They also laugh with each other when Zelia relates the story of how her son gets his head caught in the kitty’s scratching post.

SAHM I Am made me laugh, made me cry, and made me think a lot about online relationships and communication as well as the challenges of being an at-home mom.

In tone it reminds me of Robin Jones Gunn’s Sisterchick books, with just the right blend of humor and pathos.

Expect more great things from Meredith Efken. According to her blog, she is working on a sequel. I’ll be the first one to preorder it online, that’s for sure. I’m a new fan.

Author’s website: www.meredithefken.com