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When I first heard of this book, I thought it would be a guide to parenting like all the others you see on the shelves, however it isn’t. This book is not a manual, but a resource and reminder of how our natural instincts as a parent are what count. It is a book for those individuals who feel that the techniques and guidance given by health authorities and the various parenting books on offer in stores, are intrinsically misguided. If you think its ok to force your child into a routine by letting him or her cry on her own, it isn’t. Even if it means you can go back to work with less hassle. You should be ready to accept this new creature into your life completely, and not shun them and force them so soon into a routine and life of solitude.

Jean Liedloff writes this book as an anthropological work, but it speaks so loudly to parents because we can all recognize the reality and truth it holds. My depression at the state of our culture came about long before I had my baby, but this book has given me more clarity to my disapproving views of the world and the almost unnatural way we live than all the other self help and guidance books I have read put together. It sets out so many endearing anecdotes with such burning clarity about how our society is and creates the conditions for us to feel depressed, stressed and alienated, that you feel a deep sorrow at the destruction caused, and the joy you have missed out on. But despite this, it is a very positive book that I will refer to time and time again when I am feeling disheartened as a reminder of the purity of human instinct.

It illustrates quite poignantly the addictiveness and irrelevance of consumerism and how we have lost much of our natural well-being through materialism and affirms the beauty and the strength of the human spirit.

We have strayed so far from our innate needs and desires, that reading this book will indefinitely make your life harder to bear in many ways, but this isn’t a negative thing as much as that suggests. The insights and wisdom gained from the book will more than make up for that and will almost lift the incessant burden of feeling that there is something missing in life right a way in the knowledge of now knowing what that is.

It is a beautiful book. A book that brings about many emotions for the reader and I would whole heartedly recommend it to anyone who senses there is something amiss in our society; that there are better ways we can live, other than segmenting ourselves from our families and living a life of fear. If you want to restore your natural instincts more fully, I recommend you read this book. It will also give you more confidence in yourself as a parent – especially if you are a first-timer, and will help you forge your own opinions and combat the oppression from the general public.

For more information about the continuum concept, please visit Understanding The Continuum Concept