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From Mom to Me Again: How I Survived My First Empty-Nest Year and Reinvented the Rest of My Life - Paperback | Diverse Reads

From Mom to Me Again: How I Survived My First Empty-Nest Year and Reinvented the Rest of My Life

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Rediscover your own identity after your kids leave home with this top-rated empty nest book for moms!

When her children left for college, Melissa Shultz was certain that she had prepared them for their new lives—but her own life was a different matter entirely. Her house was empty, her purpose unclear. If her life was no longer dominated by the day-to-day demands of mom life, then who exactly was she? And how would she ever move forward?

From Mom to Me Again is the story of one woman's reinvention. Shultz's struggle with the empty nest and the transformation of her marriage, friendships, career, and ultimately herself, is part memoir and part self-help guide. Funny, comforting, and practical, this book tells Shultz's personal story and provides valuable advice for readers preparing to send their children off into the world. She shows women that while they'll always be mothers, it's time for them to take center stage in their own lives once again and embrace this new stage, in both their personal lives and in their professional careers.

Also makes a great gift for empty nesters!

ISBN-13: 9781492618430

Media Type: Paperback

Publisher: Sourcebooks

Publication Date: 07-05-2016

Pages: 224

Product Dimensions: 5.50(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.70(d)

Melissa T. Shultz has written about health and parenting for The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Dallas Morning News, Newsweek, Readers’ Digest, The Huffington Post, Next Avenue, Scary Mommy, Babble, and other publications and blogs. She is also an acquisitions editor for Jim Donovan Literary. A native of Washington, D.C., and mother of two sons, she lives in the Dallas area with her husband.

Table of Contents

Introduction: It Happens to the Best of Us xiii

The Big Questions: What Will the Empty Nest Bring? xvii

Nine Signs You're Not Ready to Transition to the Empty Nest xxi

Part 1 Letting Go of the Mothering Instinct

On Parenting and Loss 1

The Art of Nurturing 9

The Need to Protect and Control 13

Shifting from Mother to Mentor 20

Talking to Your Kids 31

It's a Process, This Separation Thing 34

When It Really, Truly, Finally Happens 41

Part 2 Wallowing in the Past and on the Couch

The Initial Shock 49

If I Knew Then… 60

The Hardest Part 69

The Importance of Shifting the Focus to You 73

Waiting for My New Life to Begin 76

Part 3 Searching for a New Life with Meaning (and More Sleep)

Building a Bridge 81

The Father Factor 85

Doing Things Differently 96

The Power of Positive Thinking 101

How to Become More Resilient 104

How to Improve Your Outlook 106

Defining Happiness 110

Part 4 Finding the Right Path to Reinvention

Love and Marriage 119

How to Reconnect, Emotionally and Physically 126

Friendships 139

Breaking Up 146

Reaching Out 148

Passions and Careers 153

Job Search and Resume Tools 165

An Inspiring Story of Rediscovery 171

Transformation: Me, Reinvented 174

Because You're Worth It 178

Resources 185

Sources 189

Acknowledgments 195

About the Author 199