A One-Year Experimentand Its Surprising Results

I was looking forward to reading Sara's experiences and the things she learned on her journey, but was left feeling annoyed & wishing I had picked a different book for the money I spent. Sara came across as immature in my opinion. I didn't glean any biblical knowledge from this book and would not recommend it to anyone. I kept thinking she was going to expand on her "journey" as the book progressed but instead each chapter was just a new story of some basic lesson. As a busy mom, wife & business owner, my money & time are valuable & I felt both were wasted on this book. I believe Sara was really desiring to grow in her relationship with God through this journey, but the stories left a lot to be desired as a reader.

I decided to order this book from Barnes and Noble one day, as I had heard about it a while ago and thought it would be an interesting read. Although I am not married, I am in a relationship with a great guy. I have always admired the Proverbs 31 wife, and I wanted to adopt her super-wife life into my every day life (as a girlfriend, a roommate, a coworker, ect.) I figured if I practiced being a good wife now, then when I actually became a wife, I would already have some good habits to build off of.
Sara Horn's book really helped me to break down the passages into what they all meant, especially in today's world where spinning your thread and planting your own wheat aren't really the "norm". It was comforting to know that someone else in the world wasn't the perfect wife that women strive to be, but that there was effort into doing the best she could. It was a good read, and I liked the diary-style writing, but it did leave a few questions here and there that I would love answered. One question I had was about The Love Dare book, and if she enjoyed the book and recommended it, or if she just forgot about it when her husband went to train.
About 3/4ths way through the book, it started to feel rushed and spacey, like maybe she was really working on the wife? (:
It is an encouragement, and I would recommend this book, and maybe even use the book and its study in a women's life group to really dig and dissect the Proverbs 31 Wife.

Many Christian women, like me, have a love/hate relationship with the wife described in the thirty-first chapter of the Bible's book of Proverbs. While we love the descriptions of opportunities to bloom in many areas, there is also often guilt associated with the measuring stick that seems to show up mentally when comparing ourselves to her.

Along comes Sara Horn's book to provide some clarity to this often discussed passage from the Bible. Sara details a one year experiment she performed to see if she could in fact, be the Proverbs 31 wife. Reading the book, I found myself laughing with Sara at her cooking struggles (which also sounded hauntingly familiar!), tearing up at her descriptions of how hard it can be to say goodbye to a spouse, and closely identifying with the struggles of trying to measure up to everyone else.

The good news message of this book is that God never intended for us to try and measure up to a "one size fits all" life plan for every woman. Sara's candor, transparency, and ability to laugh at herself encouraged me. The more I read, the more I thought about how to spend more time focused on my relationships (with my children, husband and God) and less time worry about how I'm doing compared to a broad spectrum ideal. Sara's book encouraged me to come up higher in some areas and give myself a break in others. Most of all, it challenged me to stay connected with the One who made me and understands my capabilities (or lack thereof), better than any other.

I recently finished reading this book. After years of struggling with trying to be a better and more Biblical wife I was so happy to find this book. I have done more than one study on Proverbs 31 and always ended up feeling a little disappointed with myself, but at the same time wondering, "is this chick for real?!" The title is what gave me hope; the So Called Life part. I'll tell you at times I felt like the author had a hidden camera in my house! Then again at other times I felt like, ha...I'm doing that right at least. It was such a great, honest book about all of the expectations the world puts on women and those we put on ourselves as well. I have recommended this book to my friends and I am ready to read it again. Sara Horn is just so open and down to earth, it was an easy read and one well worth a repeat or two...probably three! I want to do a book study with this as well, maybe online, maybe in a small group setting. So many women need some truth today....you just really need to read this book.

I enjoyed reading My So-Called Life as a Proverbs 31 Wife for a number of reasons. First, as with all testimonies of God at work in the lives of His children, reading a transparent account of Sara's journey encouraged and motivated me in my own spiritual journey.

Secondly, even though I am a stay-at-home (home school) mom who enjoys the domestic life, I identified in some of Sara's struggles. Many spouses and moms (myself included) feel they don't measure up. And that leads me to my third point.

As I face my own challenges as a wife and mother, Sara reminded me of what I knew to be true all along. God must always be first. "God comes first. Period. And by placing him first, the rest comes together." I can think of no better reminder and parting challenge to the reader. When God isn't first, all of our floundering efforts are in vain. And with God first, we'll be reminded that we serve a God of mercy, love and grace.

Finally, as an active duty Army spouse and founder of a military support website, it was insightful to learn of the unique challenges of a Navy Reserve family.

Thank you, Sara, for sharing a portion of your journey with us.

Benita Koeman
Founder, Operation We Are Here

This book has absolutely no point and reads like a poorly written diary. I actually meant to order a year of biblical womanhood but I ordered this one instead and it is the first book ever that I could not even finish. It was just that bad! It has nothing to do with living biblically and just discusses her day to day life with the occasional question as to what "Martha 31" (which is the name she gave to the Proverbs 31 wife ) would do or if these scenarios ever would have happened to her.

I thought this book would encourage, challenge, and help me learn more of what it really takes to be a Proverbs 31 wife. I have to agree with another reviewer that it felt like reading a blog or someones diary; it wasnt very interesting or thought-provoking. Its a very easy read, I read the first 100 pages and decided to return it back to the library. I hope to find another book with a similar concept that speaks to me more. It was hard to relate to the author because even though I work part time, I still identify more with a stay at home mom since thats my main role/job. The author is a workaholic and it was hard to connect with her.

This book started out promising, and then really failed to live up to its stated intention. When I chose a book about a woman trying earnestly to live as a Proverbs 31 wife for a year, I thought it would be in the vein of A.J. Jacobs - with real goals, a game plan, and interesting tidbits and insights along the way. Instead, this book read like Ms. Horn's personal journal, with many references to her thinking about Proverbs 31, but not so many examples of her actually following through on those thoughts. I think this might have been a fun blog to follow, but was ultimately not impressed with it as a book.

I really enjoyed reading this book. As a fellow military wife, Sara Horn really spoke to me in supporting my husband. I loved how she shared her struggles and well as her triumphs. I felt like a dear friend was sharing her story.

Like many of the reviews state, Horn is a likable story teller. I enjoyed the story and struggles of her life and appreciated the realness in her walk as a busy Christian wife and mom but I was hoping for so much more from a book centered around such a profound piece of scripture. I was looking for my guidance amd wisdom than I was a story.