Intuitive Parenting by Debra J. Synder, PhD

It is most unfortunate that I have to report I really didn't enjoy this book. It's a shame because I really wanted to like it. I love the subject matter, and I as excited to read it. I was quite disappointed.

I just didn't connect with this book. It was boring, and I felt as though I was wasting my time reading it. This book is quite new agey, which isn't necessarily a problem in itself for most people, but for these concepts discussed, it was just not explained well.

The author professes to have studied these concepts in depth and has a PhD to show for it, yet I can't pinpoint a single thing I learned from this book nor something special or important to add to my life because of it.

The author begins each chapter with information about her life. She has a disabled daughter in which many of the stories she shared touched my heart. I would have liked to read more about that. After the short story in each chapter, there was simply just a bunch of talk- talk about concepts I feel most people won't be able to relate to.

There are exercises to do at the end of each chapter. There wasn't one in which I really found useful for my day to day life. It's hard to do guided imagery or meditation while reading it off a page, and I certainly didn't memorize it to do while not reading.

I found many of the author's terms confusing. She makes up a lot of her own terms and language without proper explanation, e.g. Heartglow. She also refers to God, the Universe, Source, Spirit, amongst others. It isn't clear to me as to whether the author is referring to a different entity with each capitalized reference or the same one with creativity of a different name.

In general, I am interested in the concepts of this book. I believe there is a lot about energy in which we do not understand, and I'm open to learning about it, yet this book just wasn't the source for that. I love the idea of being in tune with your children, connected and intimate, understanding them in a way only you can. I love to read about unexplanable moments in which there seemed to be an energetic connection between two people, an intuitive knowing or sense of something. I'm open to these ideas, yet this book just fell short.

I also found this book poorly referenced for the subject matter covered.

I appreciate what the author was trying to do with this book. I respect her life circumstances and the profound connection she has with her daughter. I respect what she shared in this book and I appreciate her bearing her soul.

Other than those things, this book just didn't resonate with me. It may be different for others, but my recommendation is there are so many other books to read out there, this one is a waste of time and money.