Yesterday I shared about the books I read in 2025, and today I’m excited to share the books I read. Top 4 favorite reads of 2025.
When I looked through all the books I read in 2025, these four books stood out to me as the ones that had the most impact on me. These books challenged me, encouraged me, and I returned to them over and over again in conversations and recommendations. We’ll explain more about why we chose each in the reviews below.
Book #1 – fight for us
I chose this book as one of my top reads because of how it impacted our marriage. The section about lopsided marriages really challenged me deeply because I realized that we definitely had a lopsided marriage, meaning that our marriage was unfairly advantageous to me. Since I am the breadwinner and work full time, many decisions were made around me. Jesse is quieter and less assertive than me, so he often sacrificed a lot for my schedule and needs.
Unbalanced seasons in a marriage can occur when one partner’s work or business begins to take up more space than the relationship itself. In our case, my role as breadwinner and the demands of the business slowly tipped the balance, even though it wasn’t our intention. Over time, that unevenness created a mutually imperceptible distance between us. We gradually fell into a pattern of Jesse serving behind the scenes and carrying a lot of the burden of adapting his life to mine, instead of us both carrying the same burden.
(Note: Some imbalance is natural in the short term, but for us it had become the norm.)
As a result of reading this book (and having the authors join me on my podcast), Listen to their episode here), I apologized to Jesse and had a really honest conversation with him. And I started making very conscious changes to make our marriage less lopsided and more equal. It took a lot of work and discussion, trial and error, and practice, but thanks to this book we are able to end this year in a much different (and healthier!) situation.
Book #2 – household customs
I avoided reading this book for a long time. Mainly because I was convinced that reading this book would make me feel like I wasn’t doing enough and that it would feel like a list of legitimate “do’s” and “don’ts.” I finally read it because so many people recommended it to me, and I immediately understood why!
It was full of encouragement and inspiration and felt so doable and full of grace. Instead of making you feel like you’re not trying hard enough. I was gently motivated by simple ideas on how to make discipleship an integral part of daily life.
What struck me most about reading this book was how it really made me realize the habits and rhythms that come so naturally to us that we already have. I had no idea that I already had so many positive “home habits” in place. That was very encouraging to me!
Also, when I read this, I was in the early stages of writing my next book, and it completely changed the direction and structure of this book. After hearing about my next book, you’ll understand why.
Book #3 – A life full of mom love
This book is very different from any of the other three I chose, but it was so well written and so raw and honest that I put it on my top four list. As someone who has had the privilege and heartache of watching mothers navigate the journey of leaving their children in foster care and working hard to break free from addiction and reunite with their children, I have had a front row seat to how complex and complex this journey can be. To be honest, I feel like I had a very critical mind until I started walking side by side with someone. It’s so easy to point a finger at someone when you don’t know their story or put yourself in their shoes.
This story is vulnerable, not tied with a neat ribbon, and will tear your heart out. But it also shows the power of a mother’s love, and may give you a completely different perspective on the foster care system, how hard parents usually have to work to reunite, what it’s like inside the court system and in prison, how difficult it is to break free from addiction, and the many complex emotions involved.
I know this is just one person’s story, but from the small window I had through the foster care system and out of addiction, much of what Mama Love went through felt similar to what others have gone through. And I hope it helps us to have a different perspective, be more empathetic, and be less judgmental.
Note: This book is very honest, contains a lot of strong language, and talks about many adult topics. But it’s also a powerful story of hope in darkness. This is not an explicitly Christian book, although there are some overtones of religion and faith.
Book #4: Is your daughter ready?
I highly recommend this book to all parents, even if they don’t have daughters, because I loved this book and thought the advice in it was extremely valuable for all teenagers. Kari Kampakis has done a wonderful job of tackling difficult topics with grace and truth.
If you would like to know more about the contents of this book, Listen to the podcast episode we recorded with the author. This book delves into so many relevant topics to help parents gain wisdom and guidance on how to deal with things, how to handle difficult conversations, when to let go and be quiet, and when to talk.
I love that the author is a mother of four daughters and has experienced so many different challenges as a result, and is really honest about sharing her struggles and successes. This book will be a great starting point for conversations with your child. It may also be helpful to read with your daughter to get her thoughts and opinions.
What were your top reads of 2025? I’d love to hear more and add them to your 2026 TBR list.
Source: Money Saving Mom® – moneysavingmom.com
