Time for another book review! I know its been ages, but I’ve just been SO FREAKING busy that I haven’t gotten a chance to read that much *Sad face* Here’s to hoping that changes as my business grows and I can bring on moer team members!
Today’s review is of Work PAUSE Thrive: How to Pause for Parenthood Without Killing Your Career by Lisen Stromberg.
Amazon Synopsis:
We worry putting our family first means we’ll be forced to abandon our careers. We’re afraid if we pause our careers, we’ll be forever off-track. This thinking is outdated—forget what you’ve heard about how pauses are career limiting, about how those who pause lack ambition, or that if you do pause you won’t be able to re-enter the paid workforce. That’s a flawed reality, one that doesn’t reflect the truth of the careers of some of the most successful women in this country.
Author Lisen Stromberg knows this success firsthand. After the birth of her second child, she did something she never imagined she would do: she opted out to focus on her family. But her career didn’t end there. Lisen paused then pivoted to become first a social entrepreneur and then an award-winning journalist writing about women, work, and life in Silicon Valley. Along the way, she learned she wasn’t alone. Lisen met many highly successful women who told her they never “opted out” but who had, in fact, temporarily downshifted or paused their careers. Their hidden journeys revealed alternative nonlinear paths to the top that enabled them to achieve their personal and professional goals.
In Work PAUSE Thrive, Lisen shares their stories. Deeply rooted in social science research, cutting-edge data collected from nearly 1,500 women, and through 186 first-person interviews, this book reveals how trailblazing women have disrupted the traditional career paradigm. What worked for them can work for you.
In this book, you’ll learn:
Who pauses, how they do it, and why
How pausing can enrich both your career and your life
How to innovate your own nonlinear career path
What we can—and need—to do as a society to make it possible for more people to achieve their personal and professional goalsWork PAUSE Thrive also reveals new and exciting trends in the workplace and offers targeted solutions for companies to help ensure they have cultures that will enable you to lead the life you want, a life in which you can build both a career and a family, and ultimately your own version of a life well lived.
My Thoughts:
I wasn’t sure what I was getting into when I started, I’m not a parent, and don’t really have any plans for kids at any point (barring any surprises). But I was quickly drawn into Lisen’s story woven in with facts, details and some serious “Hell-Yeah” moments!
This isn’t a read for fun or entertainment type of book, this is a BOO-YAH for women type of book. This is the kind of book that makes you want to be more, do more, say more, experience more, and support other women MORE. I walked away from this book thinking that despite the fact that my own personal pause was not about raising children, it was about establishing my family and finding myself. And if that’s not a good reason for a pause and I don’t know what is.
There are so many quotable lines in this book but my favorite is “a pause is a temporary reframing of one’s priorities to place the personal before the professional.” This perfectly describes the pause I took in my own professional life when I moved to Texas and got married. With that pause, I found out so much more about myself, found that I have a talent for writing/blogging, running a handmade business, and ROCKING the heck out of a virtual assistant business. None of those things would have been discovered if I hadn’t given my self permission to pause!
Stromberg close her book out with a Manifesto, a call to greatness from the countries that we live in. One that will bring greater equality, and allow ALL its citizens the right and opportunity to pause when needed, so that we may ALL Thrive to our greatest potential! And thats a manifesto I can get behind!
I highly recommend this book! Its available on Amazon and in Bookstores everywhere. AND you can enter below for a chance to win a copy for your self!
p>I was selected for this opportunity as a member of CLEVER and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
This sounds like a must read, As a parent, it is a very hard thing to pause for yourself. There is just so much to do. Thank you for your point of view on this book. And for the giveaway!
I’m always looking for a good book to read. This one seems very interesting! And also, P.S. I JUST had one of those butterfly sugar cookies from Starbucks the other day. It was delicious!
I love a good book. I’m going to add this book to my list the moment I get a chance to settle down. Thanks for the giveaway too!
It sounds like I may benefit from reading this book. My pause has been walking away from a government job and work outside the home. I am curious how it’d speak to me regarding my own love for writing and my current work in the virtual assistant world, like you.
I am going through something similar, but this hasn’t been my experience. I left a major corporate job where I was paid well in order to spend more time with my stepkids and not to have to travel globally any longer. I took a position at a small agency and it wasn’t a fit, so I left the position. I’m focusing on my own thing while exploring other options, but I find that it is a bit challenging. I’ll take a look at this book. Thanks for the review.
What a relevant book for a generation of women wondering if we can step out of the work force to spend more time at home when our family’s need us. I’m going to buy a couple of copies and give them to my daughters in law .. I know it’s a topic they’ve been struggling with. Thank-you for your review
I’m always up for reading a good book however, I just don’t have the time to! The only time I have is right before bed, but I’m always so exhausted that I end up reading one page and then falling asleep! This one sounds like a great read!
That sounds like a very helpful book. I’ve been multitasking by listening to audio books while doing chores since I find it hard to find time to read. What a great giveaway!
This sounds like a great book. I have trouble with taking time to pause. I’ll have to add to my list for my next long flight