Kathleen Melin

By Heart: a Mother's Story of Children and Learning at Home Kathleen Melin

"By Heart" shares the surprising story of one family's journey from compliant public schooling to radical home-based learning.  This literary homeschool memoir takes readers from the tundra of Bethel, Alaska, to the placid farm country of Wisconsin, all the while exploring the homeschool lifestyle.

Daring and compassionate, it portrays homeschooling as a progressive choice and thoughtfully examines classic homeschool tensions -- homeschool decision, schedules and curricula, socialization, and the economics of co-parenting.

"By Heart" offers a view of the homeschool lifestyle deeply connected to nature and its cycles.  Unflinchingly human, it explores doubts and concerns while remaining steadfastly passionate to the homeschool choice.

"By Heart" is a "must- read" for those considering the homeschool life and a soothing companion to parents in the midst of it.

Entertaining, inspiring, and empowering, it's a delightful and provocative memoir for all parents, whether they homeschool or not.

For educators and policy makers, it reveals an insider's experience of the homeschool reality;  meanwhile, courageously searching the historical and cultural complexity of education rather than posing a simplistic debate between public school and homeschool.

"By Heart: A Mother's Story of Children and Learning at Home" is a literary page-turner of a memoir that strips away facades and invites readers to an intimate portrayal of one homeschool family.  Ultimately, this rare and heartfelt telling affirms all those who live their lives beyond tidy boxes and categories.