A stressful divorce. A painful death of a beloved husband. And suddenly, you're on your own again.
Your children have moved out, your parents are aging fast, your friends' lives continue onward, seemingly unchanged. Being suddenly single can be terrifying, but eventually it can also be liberating.
Deep down you crave attention, pampering, and the attention of family and close friends to get you through and back to the land of functioning.
Rebuilding and filling your internal well was something you had to focus on now. Being on your own for the first time, and possibly forever, required the need to craft a new life, as a single person that was meaningful for the rest of your life.
Was I now considered a social pariah? Were female friends nervous I'd steal their husbands? Where did I fit in?
The reality was still the need to be reminded frequently of your status when people asked, "How are you doing on your own? It must be hard. Are you going to stay in your home? Are you dating? What do you do on weekends, especially Saturday nights?
It was as if all single women--widowed, divorced, or never married--were part of some special social cult. "Stick with your own kind," they seemed to imply.
In the new book, "Suddenly Single After 50" addresses what life's really like when it's suddenly shaped as single. It helps readers understand the grief, frustration, and sadness alongside reawakening into the world. Anyone who finds themselves suddenly single in middle age and beyond--or knows someone who is--will find both advice and reflection, support and a way forward.
Source: Barbara Ballinger: Suddenly Single After 50: The Girlfriends' Guide to Navigating Loss, Restoring Hope, and Rebuilding Your Life
Other Self-Coaching Guides for Career Women:
Women, Know Thyself: The most important knowledge is self-knowledge. (ebook and paperback editions)
Women and Time (ebook and paperback editions)
When Doing It All Won't Do: A self-coaching guide for career women. (ebook and Workbook Edition in paperback at $13.41)