The Power Pause: How to Plan a Career Break After Kids--and Come Back Stronger Than Ever

INSTANT USA TODAY BESTSELLER!

A paradigm-shifting guide to career breaks after kids that rebrands stay-at-home parenthood for a new generation of women and families.

"So, what do you do?"

When Neha Ruch had to answer this seemingly innocent question for the first time after leaving her corporate job to care for her infant son, she drew a shameful blank. She couldn’t find the words to describe this new stage of life she’d just embarked on. She wasn’t a 1950s June Cleaver type, nor was she one of today’s updated stereotypes. (Craft Project Mom? Exhausted-in-Sweatpants Mom?) How, then, was she to navigate this identity shift?

Frustrated, Ruch embarked on a mission to rebrand the stay-at-home mother for a new generation of women who don’t want to leave their ambition behind just because they decide to pause or change their careers post-kids. Her online community has become the leading voice and resource for women navigating this transition, and in her first book, The Power Pause, Ruch addresses all the questions women face at this inflection point: Can I afford to pause? Who am I without my career identity? How do I find meaning in the role? And can I ever transition back to paid work?

With expert advice and diverse stories of stay-at-home mothers who buck every stereotype, as well as interactive exercises to help the reader plot a course for the long term, The Power Pause is an essential handbook for a new generation of caregivers.

Neha Ruch is the founder of The Power Pause, the leading platform for ambitious women leaning into family life that is catalyzing a shift in how society views stay-at-home motherhood. Neha lives in Manhattan with her husband, their two children, and their dog Coconut.