This book connects the author's life, and her sometimes painful realizations, to her practice of yoga. I found her warm and perfectly relateable. Her family moments feel very authentic, as does her need to do the "right" thing as a mother (all the time!) It does help if you have been to a few yoga classes, and I like the fact that she is not judgmental about her instructors. For the most part, she is there to learn and she does come to terms with her childhood and her mother in particular. As a woman's story, I was impressed by Dederer's writing, and her observations and most of all, her very real love and admiration for her children.