Barbara & Susan’s Guide to the Empty Nest

Barbara & Susan’s Guide to the Empty Nest
Barbara Rainey & Susan Yates
Family Life Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-60200-060-5
Non-Fiction, Parenting, Christian
Reviewed by Dr. Tami Brady

When my first daughter moved out after high school, I was devastated. I walked around like I had a piano tied to my butt and I cried for hours every time she’d visit. This continued until she moved back in, with boyfriend in tow. When they finally moved out, I was more than ready to let them go. Now my other kids are readying to leave the nest, all at once it would seem. I hate to admit it but I feel elated. I can’t wait for quiet dinners with my husband, a house that stays clean, and the ability to spend more time on my writing.
I picked up Barbara & Susan’s Guide to the Empty Nest because I didn’t want to be a basket case again when the exodus finally does occur. My attitude seems different this time but I was a little worried that I was in denial. I was also feeling rather guilty about being happy to have the freedom of a quieter life.
I would highly suggest Barbara & Susan’s Guide to the Empty Nest to any parent with older children. The authors have been through the process themselves and know that we all react in our own unique ways. I guess really we all grieve and move on at different speeds and with various with stops and starts. Sometimes, it just isn’t pretty and we don’t all react the way others would expect. It’s good to know that we aren’t alone.