'Mom' offers good advice

JUST ASK MOM, by Nancy Malone, CPO Publishing, 206 pages, $19.95

Nancy Malone received a lot of phone calls the year her daughter was a freshman in college. Malone thought she'd covered most of the basics before her child left home — the basics of cooking, laundry, budgeting and relationships. Apparently, though, more help was needed.

So Malone decided to write a book. The book, "Just Ask Mom," came out this spring. It is subtitled, "Everything She Told You When You Weren't Listening Is in This Book."

The book is intended as a gift for graduating seniors. Yet, when you read it, you can't help but see it as a tribute to moms.

These are but a smattering of the subjects a mom has to cover before sending her child into the world: Organization, goal-setting, stain removal, what to eat when recovering from the flu, housekeeping, what to wear to a funeral, how to balance a checkbook, good posture, how to be a friend, living without regrets, what to carry in your glove box.

Malone includes all this and more in her book. She includes recipes for everything from a grilled cheese sandwich to pot roast. She includes a list of basics that every guy and every young woman should have in their closets.

One of her best lists is the one about how to find value in others. She writes: Be realistic in your expectations. Try not to compete. Find one thing you have in common. Focus on the person's strengths. Extend the same compassion you would want shown to you. Look past the outer shell. Remember that everyone has a story.

In general, Malone has good values, and she tries to help her young readers remember the values with which they were raised. But there may be one place where Malone's advice would differ from your own.

In the section on finances, she is quite cavalier about tithing. She writes: "If you are a regular attendee of a church or religious institution (and Mom hopes you are), you are well acquainted with tithing. ... Many people follow this practice and are faithful givers. However, it can be difficult when you are a newly independent person. Give what you can and don't feel pressured, especially when you are having trouble making ends meet. Someday you will be able to give more."

It may be that she intends this advice for young people who are being supported by their parents. Perhaps "newly independent" does not mean "financially independent." Still, if a young person has a job, is 10 percent so hard to set aside?