Tiny Blue Lines: Reclaiming Your Life, Preparing for Your Baby, and Moving Forward With Faith in an Unplanned Pregnancy Paperback – February 10, 2014

Chaunie Brusie relates real life unvarnished anecdotes that resonate with young women who find themselves pregnant and unprepared for motherhood. What to do?She answers a plethora of questions in humorous, practical, and life-affirming chapters that cover such daunting problems as how to tell our parents, what happens to career plans, do I tie the knot with daddy, how will I fund a baby, and the very important question of who will lend a sympathetic ear.Titled with the tiny blue lines that appear on many drugstore pregnancy tests, the book offers advice primarily to college-age women. Chapter Nine, for example, “Is There a Syllabus for Parenthood? Being a Student and a Mom” provides survival guidelines for continuing in college during pregnancy. Additional resources at the conclusion of the narrative discuss important considerations about marriage, and there is an excellent list of resources for pregnant and parenting students.Chaunie Brusie's personal story continues on her blog by the same title. Her book is readable, entertaining, practical, current, and narrated by a young and in-touch mom who reaches out with compassion and advice to other young women who find themselves facing the choice of affirming or denying life itself. Chaunie chooses life for herself, her babies, and her readers.

So many books for young women facing unplanned pregnancy focus on heavy spiritual rhetoric, impractical advice, or tell women to focus on the blessing of a baby. I loved this book because Chaunie doesn't do any of that--instead, she's real about the challenges that unplanned pregnancy brings, while providing real stories from women (like her) who have been there and gone on to succeed professionally and in their family lives. It's relatable, inspirational, and it shows that an unplanned pregnancy doesn't mean your life has to be over!!

I purchased this for a family member that is young. She just turned 20 and is expecting her first child. She loved this book and continued to thank me . The stories and help here are not something you will find in an average parenting book. Great buy, I am happy with my purchase .

Beautifully written - this book spoke straight to my heart as a young mom of 2 (now pregnant with #3)! The only time I was able to put it down was when my brain (& heart) needed to process such inspiring, encouraging and heartfelt truth.

Great book! Very helpful section in the back about what to say, and what resources a college campus needs to support college-aged parents.

Love this book! Very comforting for someone going through this :)

When I found myself pregnant at 19 I would have given anything to talk to someone who I felt truly understood. Someone who wasn't looking to judge or declare their disappointment over my life choices. Someone who would have told me that it was ok to be excited about my baby and offered advice on navigating morning sickness and midterms, rather than shaking their head implying that this was what I got for getting pregnant outside of marriage. Someone who would greet me at church with a smile come Sunday morning. Someone who could have warned me that people can be cruel but that I could continue to be brave.Chaunie is the friend my 19 year old self could have used during the time in my life when I felt more alone than ever before. She is the friend who would have offered words of comfort as I prepared to tell my parents the news that I feared would render me parentless. She is the friend who would have told me not to be ashamed to use the resources available for there's no shame in taking care of my baby or myself. And she is the friend who would have nodded in agreement when I declared that my baby was a gift, a gift that I couldn't imagine not bringing into this world. Both heartfelt and practical, Tiny Blue Lines is hope (and that friend so many of us young mothers could have used) in the form of a book. A tangible reminder that even in the midst of an unplanned pregnancy you are not alone.Reading Tiny Blue Lines felt like I was having a conversation with a wise friend, a friend who had been there before and would like you to know that your life isn't over. Changing yes, but so far from being over. And that your dreams are still worthy of dreaming. Not only does Chaunie offer practical advice and inspiration but she allows readers to hear the stories of other mothers from various walks of life (all inspiring) -- some married, some single, some college graduates, some who made the decision to place their education on hold and care for their families. All of them changed by motherhood for the better. There are countless stories yet at the heart of each story is a reminder that we can do this. A baby is a gift -- motherhood whether planned or not planned is a gift. If there's one book I can recommend for a woman who finds herself facing an unplanned pregnancy (or perhaps planned but facing feelings of doubt or uncertainly) this is it.