Our Not-Quite-Holy Family

Many Catholics might recognize Mark Hart as the dynamic youth minister who has all the right answers about being and staying Catholic. Flash forward fifteen years: Mark and his wife Melanie have four children and they realize that despite all the advice they’ve doled out over the years, there’s no single formula for having a happy, holy family. In Our Not-Quite-Holy Family, the Harts offer candid, sincere, and down-to-earth wisdom from their time in the trenches of parenting.

Do you feel as if you’ve taken all the right steps to create God-loving individuals but still find your children are tuning you out? Are you trying to figure out how to have a family that is holy but still “normal” and human? If so, you’ll find comfort, encouragement, honesty, wit, and—most importantly—practical wisdom in Our Not-Quite-Holy Family.

Chock-full of amusing anecdotes about their journey raising four children, the Hart’s book reminds Catholics that being a good parent means taking time to get to know—and actually enjoy—your children. You’ll find thoughtful insights on a range of parenting topics, including:

• becoming a proactive, emotionally-present parent,
• healing personal wounds before they emerge in your parenting,
• parenting with your spouse as a team while maintaining intimacy in marriage,
• praying as a family without coercing your children,
• managing screen time, social media, and demanding schedules, and
• picking your battles and being a good listener.

Each chapter presents typical shortfalls and obstacles faced by Catholic parents, suggestions and ideas to think and pray about as a couple, and resources or activities to try as a couple or family.

A book for Catholics at every stage of the parenting journey—the Harts have a child in college, high school, middle school, and elementary school—Our Not-Quite-Holy Family leaves parents with a little less tension in their shoulders and a slap on the back for doing a good job—no matter what everyone else says “good Catholic parenting” should look like.