Judge Lynn Toler presides over Divorce Court, one of American daytime's most popular court shows. Her book My Mother's Rules is more than a memoir; rather it is a handbook on how to obtain emotional control over your life. The judge shares deeply personal examples on how she learned to apply these rules to her own life.
Judge Lynn's father was bipolar at a time when there wasn't much known about the mental condition. His extreme emotions were a constant source of stress for her family. Judge Toler is quick to make sure readers know her father was a good man and provided well for his family, and that he was a lawyer at a time when black lawyers weren't hired in white firms. He had to build his practice up from the ground — which he did very successfully.
With the daily drama in their home, some might question why Judge Lynn's mother didn't just leave her husband. She did for a short time, but decided her children needed their father and went back to him. It was her mother's way of dealing with her situation that provided important lessons for the judge, which she then shares with the reader.
The judge presents 43 rules. At their heart is the demand that the reader looks within and take responsibility for their emotions and how they act on them. I found them instantly helpful in my own situation. It isn't an easy process but it does work if you try.
I have a tendency to be reactive. While reading this book I encountered a really frustrating situation that in the past usually ended up with me saying the wrong things to a person and sometimes breaking something.
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