by Kitty McCaffrey
Kitty McCaffrey’s, Raising Charlie: A Self Help Book for Single Mothers, centers on raising and developing children. This is an interesting and impressive book to read especially for single mothers who want to learn from the experience of Kitty, a single mother herself.
This book is not only about raising Charlie but raising the author’s other kid as well named, Jon. Although Charlie is the main focus because he’s the youngest adopted child, it was also Kitty’s story who had struggled her way through divorce and how she was able to raise her kids from early childhood to early adult successfully despite the many challenges and obstacles that a single parent could have experienced.
It was such a painful decision on her part, who had a Near Death Experience and had lost two daughters before the couple’s decision of adopting the two boys (Jon and Charlie). When the couple decided to separate, the author had to do her best to manage the kids with limited financial resources while working as a full-time teacher in Florida.
Her spirituality as a Christian has helped her cope with the daily struggles and routines of raising her two boys while finding additional income to support the family since her husband was not very supportive especially when it comes to the security and emotional needs of the children. Aside from that, it was her wisdom and their togetherness as a team (between her and the two boys) that made their journey meaningful as she was able to focus on her children’s strengths through discipline and positive reinforcement.
I can also say that the author has given much importance on developing the kids holistically in terms of quality education, sports, travel, and the passion for music (the boys excelled in this area). Lastly, learning is also emphasized on raising Charlie with the help of his older brother since they acted as a team.
There are many good points about this book. First, every experience and meaningful anecdotes as narrated by Kitty, there is always a lesson being presented which is quite simple yet profound. Second, the author uses simple words to communicate to the readers whose audience is primarily intended for single mothers and would-be parents in the future about what it is like to raise a kid successfully. Third, the book focuses much on important themes like parenting or responsible parenthood, divorce, child development, and child psychology, religion, spirituality, remarriage, and cultural American values.
– The Moving Words Review
About The Author
Kitty McCaffrey is the rising author of these promising books: Raising Charlie: A Self Help Book for Single Mothers, God’s Presence in the Life of an Ordinary Woman: An Autobiography and Dancing with a Stranger.
She has also been published in newspapers and magazines. She is a retired educator who now enjoys using the skills she so often taught her students. She lives with her rescued shih tzu, Lily.
She is the mother of two adult sons. She enjoys studying, reading, gardening, volunteering, and writing.