This book is not Eat, Pray, Love. It is not the kind that tells you to drop everything, pack your bags, and scoot to your dream destination to find yourself. Sarah Mae’s Longing for Paris is a book that invites you to find Paris wherever you are in the world and find comfort in the fact that there is a glorious home, the one that you truly long for in the arms of Heavenly Father.
This book is a spiritual book laden with Bible verses and the author’s personal reflection on life, love, and relationship with God.
Longing for Paris is a fitting book for women trapped in a rat race and are too exhausted to even think about the next move to take to make their lives “better”. If you’re a mother and you’re comfortable about reading a book that mentions the Holy Scriptures more than 100 times, then you might want to sit down in a café and read this one slowly. If you travel often, this book may be a good reference to make those travels more meaningful and may actually help you go beyond the pride of posting selfies on your social media accounts to tell friends and enemies how privilege you are to be traveling and living the dream.
Why Paris? You may ask…
The author’s fascination with Paris started when she was a child who spent her summers with a mother who taught her French words. Her mother and her parents (the author’s grandparents) lived on the outskirts of Paris from 1944 to 1946 when her father was stationed at the US European Command Headquarters in Camp-de-Loges. The food, wine, and culture fascinated Sarah Mae and from there, her interest on Paris started.
In her author’s note, she wrote:
“After having children and coming out of the fog of sleepless nights and hormones, i realized that I was me – and yet I was different; I had to figure out who I was after having children. I needed to discover myself again.”
These words speak so much about what I feel these days and my worries about what will become of me in the next five years as I go about the routine and responsibilities of being a wife and mother. Sarah Mae is not alone in longing for something. Every day, I stand infront of a crossroad, crying, convincing myself of the need to take off and be with myself. But my mind fast forwards itself and I know exactly what I would be feeling when I’m alone to “rediscover myself”; I would just be the same miserable and whiny lady who misses her husband and children.
Sarah Mae’s Longing for Paris gave me the inspiration to look within instead of constantly finding reasons to find meaning in life from outside experiences and adventures. I’ve been blessed in this life to have travelled the world, meet people from belonging to different echelons of society, and become part of various organizations which gave me the platform to serve others. So what is lacking in my life really? Or in Sarah Mae’s words: I wanted to know how to navigate the tensions between my longings and my reality?
Some of the answers I found in this book. It’s comforting to know that I am not the only one feeling this longing.
Longing for Paris is a breath of fresh air in a world where people write to tell you to leave home to find yourself. Perhaps the best way to find yourself is stay home and be really at home. You never know unless you stop looking from the outside. Perhaps it is time to seek for the missing piece from within.
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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a copy of this book from Tyndale Blog Network in exchange for honest reviews. I was not required to write positive reviews. Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising
