Parenthood as Spiritual Practice – with Bonnie Miller-McLemore

Okay, Dr. Bonnie Miller McLemore, welcome to The Theology Mill.

It's so good to meet you and to have the chance to talk about your book today.

Thanks.

Nice to be here.

So we're going to be talking about your book, which is called In the Midst of Chaos, Caring for Children as Spiritual Practice, which is a delightful book.

We were just chatting about how it's actually, it came out in 2019, but it was a reprint of a first edition that you published in 2007.

So I have the 2019 edition, which by the way, this cover design is gorgeous.

And the cover image, I really, really like.

Yeah.

The publisher Fortress, I think, did such a good job packaging this book.

It looks really, really nice.

Thanks.

Also, yeah, I want to say, so I published a book in 2025 on fatherhood, and I had not read this book before I wrote that manuscript, and it was...

Natalie Carnes, who kind of reviewed my manuscript in a really nice way, basically said, like, hey, you're missing out on this whole kind of feminist literature on family life that you would really benefit from.

And that might kind of tweak some of your ideas on sacrifice.

And she mentioned your name in particular, yours and a couple others as well.

folks that I should really read.

And so I picked up this book after the fact and really, really loved it, especially I think my favorite chapter maybe was the last one on blessing and letting go.

I thought it was some really interesting and helpful stuff.

So thanks for writing this book.

Appreciate you coming on the show today.