Beyond Happy

My book is finished! I’m beyond happy! It hits the shelves in August 2015 (ATD Press). If you want to be notified as soon as the book is available for pre-order, send an email to [email protected] with “Sign me up” in the subject line.

Curious as to what it’s about? In a nutshell, it’s about working women’s well-being. Women are less happy today than they were 40 years ago, despite the fact that they’ve made huge strides in their levels of education and workplace participation. Women earn almost 60% of undergraduate and master’s degrees and make up 59% of the college-educated, entry-level workforce.

Yet, we earn less than men. And the number of women who are executives, board directors, partners in law firms, etc. remains shockingly low, somewhere in the range of 4% to 15%. Women still face discrimination at work and at home, where we are responsible for the lion’s share of housework and child care. Twenty-eight percent of women report having a great deal of stress in their lives.

Like so many, I’ve experienced the stress of being a working mother. Trying to juggle multiple roles at once definitely hurt my well-being. I was overwhelmed! I found myself constantly complaining to my husband, my colleagues, and my friends. I yelled at our kids and then felt terribly guilty.

My experience led me to start doing research on women’s careers. I’ve written about many of the changes that are needed in our workplaces and our cultural norms. And fortunately, things are changing. But it’s taking too long! I’m tired of waiting! Aren’t you? We need to start making our own changes to increase our well-being right now.

That’s why I wrote my book. I’ve done a lot of research over the past few years to identify the factors that impact our well-being. The book presents specific strategies that we can all start using today to experience a life of greater happiness and meaning.

I’m very excited about this new adventure and I appreciate your support!