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

In this wise and encouraging guide for mothers of adult children, Huffington Post blogger Shultz combines posts she wrote on adjusting after her two sons left for college with interviews with mothers and various experts. Part memoir and part self-help, the book is filled with useful suggestions; the overriding message is to start the process before the kids leave. Shultz likens empty-nest parenthood to moving from catcher to pitcher; another mom likens her new role to that of a consultant rather than full-time employee. Grown children, Shultz points out, still need a parent’s input. Generally optimistic (though she does grimly compare her childless house to a “theater that has gone totally dark”), she suggests strengthening other important relationships, such as with spouses, and, if one has been out of the workforce, seeking ways to reenter it. Instead of wallowing, she recommends reaching out to friends, traveling, exploring hobbies, and viewing the change as a chance to redesign one’s future. Three million American women face the empty-nest experience each year, according to the author; this guidebook will help mothers navigate this “wonderful and horrible” time with acceptance and aplomb. Agent: Carol Mann, Carol Mann Agency. (July)