“If I ever lose my mind, I hope some honest person will find it and take it to Lost and Found. “

– George Carlin

I lost my mind the other day.

It packed its bags and ran away.

Having taken all, it could possibly take.

When my four-year-old hit me with a lawn rake.

Of course, he meant to whack his brother.

Never intending to smack his mother.

The boys had been at it all day long.

Fighting, arguing, their behavior so wrong.

Until finally I ordered them out to the lawn.

To rake up loose foliage while I put coffee on.

I needed a breather, a brief moment of quiet.

I glanced out the window and they’d begun to riot.

The four-year-old wadded and pitched some leaves.

The eight-year-old batted aiming for the eaves.

Swinging too hard, he lost control of the rake.

It whapped the pitcher, an unfortunate mistake.

Who undoubtedly chose to retaliate.

So, I flew out the door intending to mediate.

But my head just happened to land mid swing.

The rake hitting so hard, I heard my ears ring.

And that’s when it happened, my mind up and left.

I spewed out in anger, the boys shocked and bereft.

“You’ve clogged the toilet with toy cars,

Fed the cats pieces of your candy bars.

You’ve spilled milk on the floor,

And smeared peanut butter on the bathroom door.

You fought over the tv controller,

And the last juice box, Now I tell you it’s over!”

Wide eyed, mouths agape, the boys held perfectly still.

I exhaled loudly, breathing with controlled self-will.

“We’re sorry mama.” They said in a whisper.

My fury subsided as they began to whimper.

Their sad eyes sent daggers through my heart.

I was reminded it’s never too late to restart.

I gathered them into my arms in a hug.

They snuggled in tight like two bugs in a rug.

“We love you mama.” I heard them both mumble.

And that’s when my mind returned with a tumble.

It did a flip maybe two, so happy to be found.

Settling squarely in my head, safe and sound.

From the very first pages, Lorinda Boyer’s pile of confessions moved me. Lorinda is a master with a pen. She incomparably describes what it feels like to be a Christian woman who must comply with fulfilling the role of being a perfect, dutiful wife and mother at any cost. No saints exist in the pages of this exceptionally written memoir, yet what stands out is the way Lorinda writes about how much her beliefs, confusion, and other people’s actions or lack of them affected her behavior. Overall, Straight Enough by Lorinda Boyer is a triumph of embracing one’s identity, redefining love, expressing one true self, and freeing oneself from feeling unworthy of love. It portrays ​a flawed, loving woman who repetitively struggles with excruciating guilt and thoughts that say she deserves to be punished by God.

Amanda from Reader’s Favorite