Melanie Springer Mock is a professor of English at George Fox University (Newberg, OR), an evangelical Friends institution, where she primarily teaches first-year writing, memoir, and journalism courses. She is author or coauthor of five books, including, most recently, Worthy: Finding Yourself in a World Expecting Someone Else (Herald Press, 2018). Her essays and reviews have appeared in Ms. Magazine, The Nation, Christian Feminism Today, the Chronicle of Higher Education, Runner's World, and Inside Higher Education, among other places, and she is a regular reviewer for Anabaptist World, Red Letter Christians, and Christiansfor Social Action.
Melanie and her husband live in Dundee, Oregon, and have two 19-year-old sons. She is a stepmom to two adults and "Nani" to two grandsons. In her free time, Melanie enjoys running, swimming, biking, knitting, and watching reality television.
"Finding Our Way Forward is a gentle, challenging, and beautiful
guide for parents in a vulnerable season of walking alongside their
Gen Z young adults in a culture equally as fragile. As a professor
of young adults and mom, Melanie Springer Mock provides a
perspective and voice as a trusted friend who encourages you to
love your child while also opening your hands to let them grow into
the adult they are becoming. This book is a must-read for any
parent of today's youth."
--BRENDA L. YODER, Licensed Mental Health Counselor, school
counselor, and author of Fledge: Launching Your Kids without Losing
Your Mind
"Finding Our Way Forward is indeed a most spacious book in terms of
discerning God's calling. Melanie Springer Mock's words drip with
wisdom that we all need, not just young adults. This book is full
of reminders of the goodness and graciousness of God as we
co-create a life together and a life lived on behalf of others, not
just ourselves. God's desires for us correspond not with worldly
empire, but with the kingdom. Mock's wisdom is refreshing in an age
captured by the myth of progress and seemingly boundless material
prosperity for some. We may have to unlearn some things we have
been taught regarding discernment and calling in order to discern
well--and in that, Mock is a spectacular teacher and guide."
--MARLENA GRAVES, author of The Way Up Is Down: Becoming Yourself
by Forgetting Yourself
"For all the parents who worry and wonder and wait as their
adolescents wander toward adulthood, this book is the guide to help
you rest and trust. Melanie Springer Mock's hard-earned wisdom as a
parent and educator is a gift to us all."
--AMY JULIA BECKER, author of To Be Made Well: An Invitation to
Wholeness, Healing, and Hope
"Melanie Springer Mock's book is a deeply personal, revealing, and
heartfelt exploration of young adulthood from the perspective of a
parent and teacher of young adults. It speaks to everyone who is a
parent of young adults or who is looking ahead to young adulthood,
and to all those who teach, mentor, and guide young adults. It is
an invitation to accompany young adults in these challenging
times--and in the process to learn more about ourselves on the
journey of life. You will discover, as I did, the deep sense of
hope that permeates Melanie's stories and insights as she relates
the struggle and pain, the discovery and joy that are part of the
young adult experience."
--JOHN ROBERTO, president of Lifelong Faith Associates and author
of Lifelong Faith: Formation for All Ages and Generations
"Parenting doesn't screech to a halt when one's children become
adults. In this book, Melanie Springer Mock offers an honest look
at how parents can nurture faith and support spirituality in their
young adult children. By weaving Christian theology with stories
from her own life, she has created an engaging book that covers a
wide spectrum of topics. You will laugh and cry as you join Mock in
finding your way forward in a new phase of family life."
--DAVID M. CSINOS, associate professor of practical theology at
Atlantic School of Theology and founder of Faith Forward
"Rare is the book that challenges, equips, and encourages the
parents of emerging young adults. This is that book. In helping
parents acknowledge, then release, their biases and self-informed
opinions about who their children should be, Mock offers the
invitation to love and celebrate children for who they are . . .
image bearers entrusted to our care for a short time. This book is
a must-read for any and all people relating to and interacting with
late adolescents and young adults."
--DR. DOREEN DODGEN-MAGEE, psychologist, author, mom, and
neighbor
"Timely and searingly honest, Finding Our Way Forward is a gift for
those of us who have raised (or are otherwise in close relationship
with) young adults. Mock tells her own 'emptying the nest' story,
with all its attendant loneliness, grief, and uncertainty. While
she admits that we are all out of our league as we walk alongside
our grown children in these unprecedented times, the wisdom and
spiritual insight she offers in this book deliver valuable comfort
and support. What a powerhouse of a book!"
--JENNIFER GRANT, author of Dimming the Day and When Did Everybody
Else Get So Old?
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