BEYOND THE MOMMY YEARS: EMPTY NEST, FULL LIFE
CARIN RUBENSTEIN, PhD
ISBN: 0-446-58080-5/978-0-446-58080-9
August 29, 2007
Springboard Press (Hachette Book Group USA)
237 Park Avenue New York, NY 10169
Hardcover
$24.99
352 pages
Non-fiction
Rating: 4 cups

Being a mom is important to most women and it does not really matter how they have children, they just want them there. So what does one do once the children grow up and move away? This book shows how to take things step-by-step and gives a lot of good insight into what will be a new stage of life. Mother will be a title that will always be yours, but with no children underfoot anymore what will you do with your life as a woman?

There were three stages presented in this book: Grief, Relief, and Joy. Every woman is different in how she progresses from one stage to another. Yet, it seems apparent to me that she will eventually end up in joy. Grief is referring to missing the child or children when they are no longer around all the time. There is relief that she can finally do something for herself and, having said that, she is not being selfish at all, just looking to take care of her needs first. It is the simple fact that she can be the way she was before she had children; where she can come and go as she pleases. There is no time crunch or limits. And, there is Joy that she has so many possibilities to explore that she might never have tried before because she was focused on taking care of her family.

Other things covered in the book are ways to find that joy in life, enjoying your spouse, learning to be a better friend, and embracing the changes. The thing most often stated is that every woman is different and it takes time to adjust to life without children. It may take days or months. Each chapter expounds on the last and puts things in better perspective. With the well thought out advice, any mother can see things more rationally. Since the author has gone through this experience, she is able to present how she dealt it.

This book is put together very well. I was impressed with how she was able to keep things moving and explained things in each section. The examples by other mothers really pulled at my heartstrings. It is nice to know how well things can go and that I am not the only one who will go through this. My son is still young, but preparing myself now is not a bad thing. My time will come before I even know it. I feel he is growing up too fast. I plan to keep this book handy until the time comes that I will need it. A great read for moms going through this separation even if it is for a second time. It gives a glimpse into how things will change.

Krista
Reviewer for Coffee Time Romance
Reviewer for Karen Find Out About New Books