What follows the introduction is a well-written, strongly researched and deeply compassionate journey into an instinctual method of raising children. Granju shows us how to trust those intuitive feelings while giving plenty of hard facts to ward off the doubts often raised by society.

If you are looking for a way to get your child to “sleep through the night” by a certain age, need instructions on how to wean your 5 month old, or want recommendations on the best playpen or bouncer seat on the market, you’ ve come to the wrong book. While these common, or “mainstream,” ideas are consistently promoted in many other parenting books, they aren’t welcomed, or needed, by attachment parents.

Instead, Attachment Parenting gives solid reasoning behind extended breastfeeding, co-sleeping and baby-wearing while discouraging “crying it out” methods, artificial feeding and using “baby buckets” and other plastic objects that foster detachment between parent and baby. Sure, you’ll find mention of the Ferber method (also known as “Ferberizing”) in this book, but chances are, you’ll never look at it in the same way again.

The anecdotes and stories from other AP parents bear strong witness to the concepts presented in the book. Some passages will no doubt bring you to tears with their beauty and truth. In fact, the book takes you through a tapestry of emotions as you first examine the way you yourself were parented, and eventually find yourself scrutinizing your own parenting skills with true honesty. It has the potential to leave you feeling cheated by the medical community and justified in your own “alternative” choices.

Before you assume this book is only for those who can practice attachment parenting by becoming a full-time parent, think again. Granju warmly supports the working parent’s attachment to their children, and gives detailed information on everything from pumping to finding the right child care.

One of the best aspects of this book is the exhaustive list of resources. Granju provides print, Internet, commercial and community resources for each main section of the book, making it very easy to find what you need for each aspect of AP. Unlike many other child care guides, Granju shows that ego plays no part in her testament of attachment parenting -- it isn’t “her way or no way.” In fact, she sticks to one of the best aspects of AP, which is that there are less rules and more instinct than most “styles” of parenting.

Perhaps this is why Attachment Parenting makes such an excellent gift for parents-to-be (there’s a “pregnant parent’s guide”), new parents or even seasoned parents who’d love to have a book that supports the decisions they made years ago.

If you’ve ever wanted to pick up your baby when he first cries because you felt you should, if you’ve ever wondered why you “should” wean your baby before your both ready, or if you’ve ever questioned how holding your baby “too much” could be so wrong when it feels so good, this book will give you the tools and support you need to follow your heart!