Helicopter Mom by Bethany L Douglas Book Review

by Heather Bock

On February 11, I attended a conference called LIT put on by Living Proof Ministries and led by Beth Moore. One of the kindred spirits I met there, Bethany Douglas, sat across the table from me at lunch that day, at the Cheesecake Factory. She is a woman whose passion for Jesus is obvious. At the time that I met her, she was just finishing the process of publishing her first book, Helicopter Mom, putting on the final touches. Now that I’ve read it, I have the honor of introducing you to it today.

In my years participating in women’s ministries Bible studies, community groups, and small groups, I have come across a lot of women who struggle with fear. I believe it is one of the biggest spiritual fights going on in the Church.

You know how it’s easy to see the pitfalls of a different culture because they have different weaknesses than your own culture? I think this might be why I see this problem so readily. Believe me, I have my own weaknesses in a big way: self-control, anger, and pride are just a few. And I do have fear sometimes, but at this point in my life anyway, thanks be to God, it’s not something that plagues me like I’ve seen it do to some women.

I know this could change quickly—Bethany Douglas herself, who didn’t have much of a problem with fear at the time of the writing of her book, now deals with it regularly since her third child was born with Down Syndrome and all the difficult complications that come with it (as she details in the book’s afterword). Thankfully, she now has the tools from her own book to deal with the fears.

I’m deeply troubled when I watch dear friends struggle against the fear that keeps them from trusting in God, especially when it comes to their children. This is why I’m so glad God saw fit to give the message of this book to Bethany to write. He wants to trade our anxiety for peace. Instead of being helicopter moms who hover over our kids, He wants us, as Bethany says in the book, to let go and lift—only then will we and our kids soar.

Bethany has a lot of experience with helicopters and a lot of good stories. By profession, she was a helicopter flight nurse for seven years. In this book, she takes all that experience and creates metaphor after metaphor for how we can fight fear. She also uses her knowledge of Scripture to equip readers with verses for the fight.

One vivid metaphor she gives is the metaphor of HazMat calls. Apparently, to decontaminate these patients, the nurses perform some serious washing before any treatment—20 minutes of soaking and scrubbing—or these patients will endanger everyone in the helicopter. Bethany says, “God requires the same thing of us—a decontaminated mind, free of all hazardous materials” (83). Decontaminating your mind is to get control of your imagination, to clean it up and keep it clean.

Another metaphor involves the pilot. Trusting the pilot is key for a flight nurse, but trusting our Pilot is key for us, too. If we have too much pride and don’t truly put our trust in God, we can crash. Trusting and obeying the Pilot is the only way we can arrive in a safe place.

Another metaphor that stuck with me is the walk-around. Before a helicopter can take off, all crew members must walk around it to check for anything that looks out of place. Bethany relates this to how we need to pray around all our problems. Whenever we are afraid, we should pray about every aspect of the object of our fear, preventing potential crashes.

Bethany asks tough questions and expects moms to be introspective and face fears. I must warn you that she doesn’t mince words. Her style is direct and to the point. She won’t coddle your fears, and she might bring up a few examples that you might not feel comfortable facing. She believes that only by facing these fears will you learn to put them behind you.

I recommend this book to any mom who feels stuck in fear. God has commanded in many places in the Bible not to fear. If you are in a place where you are having trouble following His directive in this area, take some of Bethany Douglas’ ideas, put them into practice, and I believe your hover will turn into soaring flight.

Book Giveaway

I haven’t had the opportunity to hold a book giveaway in a long time, so I’m excited I get to offer one now. If you struggle with fear as a mom (or know someone who does) and feel you could benefit from this book, you can earn a chance to win a free copy of the book by subscribing to my blog:

• Click the button “follow” in the above right column under my picture and type in your email address. Be sure to follow up with the email that should show up in your inbox or spam folder!

To earn more entries, or if you’re already following my blog,

• Share this post via social media. Each share to a different social media venue earns you one entry (up to three).
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• Notify me of your name.

Giveaways are open to residents of the continental U.S. and Canada only.

I will announce the winner next Saturday, so look for it! If I don’t hear from the winner within a week, I will draw another name. Thank you!

DISCLOSURE (IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE FTC’S 16 CFR, PART 255: “GUIDES CONCERNING THE USE OF ENDORSEMENTS AND TESTIMONIALS IN ADVERTISING”): MANY THANKS TO THE BETHANY DOUGLAS FOR GIVING ME TWO COPIES OF HELICOPTER  MOM IN EXCHANGE FOR MY HONEST OPINION.

Meet Bethany

Helicopter Mom is Bethany’s inaugural non-fiction book. By day she is a full-time flight nurse and mom, by night a writer.

Bethany is married to her best friend, Gabe; they are parents of 3 beautiful kids, 2 little boys and a baby daughter with some designer genes. Her family lives in southwest Missouri where they homeschool their kids. They spend their summers working as a family at Camp Barnabas where Bethany serves as the medical director. Their family is active in their local church where she heads up the children’s ministry.

Her mission in life is by showing her scars and teaching the lessons she has learned, she can enable and empower people everywhere to walk boldly, intentionally, fearlessly, and truthfully with God in their daily lives. She uses her vulnerability to encourage others to live more fully under His wings.

~Find out more at www.bethanyldouglas.com~