Wednesday, May 8, 2019

Advice on reinventing yourself from Kate White... who ought to know


HALLIE EPHRON: Kate White is smart. She's gorgeous and gutsy (no coincidence, she wrote The Gutsy Girl's Handbook.) She writes fabulous suspense novels while doling out brilliant career advice.

Once upon a
time, Kate was editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan magazine. And yesterday her eighth Bailey Weggins suspense novel hit the shelves.

I am  thrilled to welcome Kate White to Jungle Reds to talk about transforming yourself.
KATE WHITE: Almost seven years ago, I left my job as the editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan magazine (yes, I’m the woman who used to write those crazy Cosmo coverlines, like “Mattress Moves So Hot His Thighs Will Go Up in Flames”) to become a full-time author of mysteries and psychological thrillers.

By this point I’d been writing suspense on the side for ten years, and though my magazine career had been enormously rewarding, I found myself longing for the opportunity to step away from corporate life and give my all to being an author. So, if you’ll forgive the mixing of metaphors, one day I got my ducks in a row
and pulled the trigger.

I’ve loved my new life. It’s been great to be out of heels (and a bra) every day, to be my own boss and create my own schedule, to spend chunks of a given morning in my neighborhood Le Pain Quotidien, dreamily scribbling ideas in a notebook.

Perhaps you’ve been stirred lately by the idea of reimagining your own life. You may be where you once wanted to be, but it doesn’t feel like a good fit anymore. Or perhaps a need for change has been foisted upon you.

Regardless of your reason, let me start by saying “Congratulations.” Because on the other side of restlessness, dissatisfaction, an unexpected necessity for change, or even failure is opportunity, newness, excitement, and, very possibly, a freaking fabulous adventure.

I wish I had concrete advice to offer. Unfortunately, I’m pretty sure there aren’t any easy hacks for reinvention, like those for tidying up or looking slimmer in clothes. And though starting over can be wonderful, there are bound to be scary moments. Even if it’s your choice.

That was certainly true for me. In the beginning I wasn’t sure how my new career would unfold or what the next steps should be. It was unsettling.

But there was one thing that ended up helping me, and it might be useful to you, book lover. It sounds crazy, but I started approaching my reinvention as if I was reading a mystery or psychological thriller.

When you start a mystery, you accept the fact that for much of the journey, you’re going to be in the dark. The plot, if it’s a good one, is going to be twisty and unexpected, and though you may guess who the killer is, you won’t know for sure until the end. And that’s what you actually LOVE, right?

It pays, I think, to have the same attitude to your reinvention. Try viewing all the “What ifs” and unknowns as part of the excitement and fun rather than something to be afraid of. Embrace the mystery. Know it will take time and effort, but eventually answers will emerge.

Reinvention actually gives you the chance to be the spunky, clever sleuth of your own life, though hopefully without anyone being bludgeoned or stabbed. As Sherlock Holmes said, “Watson, the game’s afoot.” Set out, be bold, ask plenty of probing questions, and relish the amazing discovery process. 


HALLIE: And, by the way, SUCH A PERFECT WIFE, Kate's brand new suspense novel featuring true-crime writer Bailey Weggins, is literally hot off the presses. (I know you won't be surprised to learn that Bailey reinvented herself: a one-time writer for a major women's magazine turned true-crime journalist.) I'm in the middle of reading it now and all I can say is, don't start it if you have get up early the next morning...

Here's the tag line:
Blonde. Beautiful. A loving mother. And missing since Monday.
I know the Reds and so many of our readers have reinvented (or are reinventing) themselves. Please, share!  What WERE you and what ARE you? Are you still chasing red herrings, or have you found the transformation satisfying, like the outcome of a really good mystery?

About SUCH A PERFECT WIFE by Kate White

    On a sunny morning in late September, Shannon Blaine sets off for a jog along the rural roads near her home in Lake George, New York. It's her usual routine, her "me time" after dropping the kids off at school...except on this day she never returns.
   Is her husband lying when he says he as no clue where she is? Could Shannon have split on her own, overwhelmed by the pressures of her life? Or is she the victim of a sexual predator who had been prowling the area and snatched her before she knew what was happening?
    True-crime writer Bailey Weggins, on assignment for the website Crime Beat, heads north from New York City to report on the mysterious disappearance. An anonymous tip soon leads Bailey to a grisly, bone-chilling discovery. Every town has its secrets, Bailey reminds herself, and nothing is ever as perfect as it seems. She keeps digging for answers until--when it's almost too late--she undearths the terrifying truth.

73 comments:

  1. Congratulations, Kate, on your new book. I’m looking forward to reading it . . . .
    No reinventing here although I find the idea rather intriguing. I’m wondering if there is a downside to the idea of reinventing yourself? I would think it might often be more difficult than it seems . . . .

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    1. And I wonder if it's easier if you do it voluntarily versus having it thrust up on you. I started out as a teacher and when we moved and I couldn't find a job, I had to be something else. Since then all changes have been my own moves, and gradual. So maybe not reinvention? More like a steady morph.

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    2. Joan, I think it depends on how eager and ready you are for a change. If life is good, maybe don't mess with it. But I have found that change can be good even if you don't think you need it.

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  2. Reinventing yourself can be a scary ride, but when I had to do it, I told myself that, no matter what, I would not be small. I would not take the safe path, or be hemmed in by other people's comfort zones. I had nothing but an overload of grit--no marriage, no job, not a whole lot of money, a mild case of PTSD, and only a few friends to back me up--so I didn't have much to lose. When life offered me an opportunity I said, "Why not?" and gave it a go. Now I have reached a point of relative security, and I'm . . . okay, ready for another challenge. Whichever way I go, I don't want to be whittled down to fit other people's sense of what's proper or fitting. I want to keep giving my soul room to grow into a size and scope that feels comfortable for me.

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    1. Gigi, I feel energized just reading this!

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    2. Gigi, you are making me think of the guy on the huge winning streak on Jeopardy who says that you have to be willing to take Big Risks. Not be small. Bravo!

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  3. That blurb gave the shivers! Kate, I love thinking about a new adventure as a mystery. It's perfect.

    Six years ago I gave up a day job I actually loved - writing software manuals - to write crime fiction full time. There was nothing not to like about the job: good pay, casual dress, flexible hours, working with smart people...and words. But I wanted to write mysteries full time instead of around the edges of the other work, and I'm even happier in my new last job. I write three-plus books a year, all under contract, and a few short stories, too.

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    1. Edith, you leave me in your dust... and I witnessed your transition. It was amazing, and you were completely in control (or so it seemed.)

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    2. Edith, I love what you said, and it echoes a previous point I made. That sometimes change is good even if there doesn't seem to be a compelling, desperate reason for it. And as Hallie says, you leave me in the dust!

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    3. No dust! I just do what works for me. I'm in awe of both you, Kate, and Hallie. We all have our slice of the pie. ;^)

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  4. Welcome Kate, I too like the idea of reinvention as a mystery. To answer Joan's question above, it's not always easy. I was a practicing clinical psychologist--I'd spent a lot of years training for that. And it was good work that made me feel that I was helping people who were in emotional pain. Sometimes I miss that feeling and think what if I hadn't shifted directions? On the other hand, writing is a huge passion and I know I've gotten better over time. And I hear from people who find their lives enriched by books. I'm hoping to continue reinventing by shifting the focus on what I write. Congrats to you on two amazing careers!

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    1. And I think having LIVED a few extra years gives you experiences to draw on as a writer. I want to know how much of what Kate did as a high-powered editor has informed her crime novels...

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    2. Thanks Lucy!Interestingly I read a piece by a philosopher yesterday in Harvard Business Review about how regret is often inevitable when we leave one path behind and we just have to view it as part of the process and not necessarily as a warning sign that we may have chosen wrong. Hallie, Cosmo years do help. They taught me to go big, which is good for me because I sometimes tend to pull my punches as a writer. I use a strategy I used to employ at Cosmo. I called it the 4B's. I ask myself: Could it be better, bigger, bolder or more badass? Also, as an editor in chief/business person, I had to study my failures no matter how much it stung. And that's good to do as an author. But never read one star reviews!!!

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    3. I totally agree about studying your failures--or even so-so reviews. I learn a lot if I'm willing to listen--and sort out what's nonsense:)

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  5. Although my life has certainly not gone in the straight path I had imagined, I'm not sure that I reinvented myself along the way. More that I adapted and persevered as I went.

    Your books sound great, Kate. I'm putting them on my list!

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    1. "Adapted and persevered" is completely reinvention! That's precisely the process!

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    2. Hank, what amazes me about you is that you've managed to hang onto past personas and make them work as part of the YOU.

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    3. Thanks, Judi. And nothing wrong with adapting and persevering. It doesn't have to be a revolution.

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    4. Thanks, Judi. And nothing wrong with adapting and persevering. Doesn't have to be a revolution.

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  6. Forgive me, please, if I ignore the prompt and just go fan girl on Kate for a moment. I so love the Bailey Weggins character! I was so afraid you had left her behind forever -- I am just THRILLED to see new titles featuring Bailey. THANK YOU!!!!

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    1. And the new one is a pip, Susan!

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    2. Hey Susan, you made my freaking day. Thank you!!! I can't ever leave Bailey behind.

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  7. Congratulations on your new release! I like the mattress cover copy too. When my youngest left for college, I started writing stories and my training wheels mystery, which I was told to bury in a drawer. Fifteen published short stories later (with a new acceptance for fall publication), I'm a DAPHNE finalist for my debut traditional mystery, Curtains for the Corpse. Hallie, you own a scene in the book from our critique session at Mad Anthony in Hamilton, Ohio.

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    1. FANTASTIC! Congratulations. Cannot wait to read it!

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    2. Margaret: in the FALL! Congratulations!
      BTW the manuscripts I've buried in the drawer have ALL been cannibalized (by me) over the years. So keep that drawer handy.

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    3. Story in anthology to be published this fall. About to start the querying process on my debut novel.

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  8. Oh, Kate, you know how much you've already changed my life! A few years ago, when I was figuring out what to do about my then 40-year long reporting career, I was contemplating cutting back a bit. I thought--no, if Kate White can do her editor job AND write, I can do it too.
    So then I ran into Kate somewhere, and told her she was my inspiration.
    Kate, remember? You looked at me with surprise.
    "Oh," you said. "I haven't done that for years!"
    So Kate was my inspiration even when I was wrong about it!
    And her books are fabulous...my role model for suspense. And I KNOW she's still doing that!

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    1. That's so funny! I really think no one can keep as many plates spinning as you can, Hank.

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    3. Aw, thank you! (But when I hear them crashing from time to time, I just--get new plates!)

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    4. Hank, that is so sweet of you to say. But tell me, what did I mean when I said I hadn't done it for year? Not sure. I wrote eight novels when I ran Cosmo, and it was doable but a bear. Sometimes it felt like my brain was the Drake Passage, where the Atlantic and Pacific are always trying to equilibrate. The two things were so different. I resigned 7 years ago, and I love being a full time writer and not worrying about the corporate stuff. Many fewer plates!!!

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    5. I love your mind being the Drake Passage--

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    6. I think it was about doing TWO full time jobs--when we talked, you had left Cosmo--but I didn't know that! I thought you were STLLL juggling two full-times, and I thought if you could, I could. I did it for 8 years, too. But then-the waters got too choppy and impossible to navigate successfully. xooxo LOve the fewer plates--though I bet you agree--sometimes I look back and think: HOW did I do that?? And other times--I'm twice as busy now as then. All good! You are still my role model.

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  9. Well Done Kate! I'm so gland you chose to write books over coverline. We are all the better for that choice.

    Reinvention...it has been a life-long process for me. However, I think of it as coming into my own, finding out who I really am, and letting go of trying so hard to be what others have told me I should be. I'll probably still be working at it when they try to put my ashes in an urn I don't fancy.

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    1. That's "glad". More coffee please!

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    2. Ah, the urn. I was just talking to my kids about what to do with my ashes. An interesting discussion...for another time.

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    3. hahaha. I have a digital folder called When We Die for them to access. They told me they hate hearing me mention it.

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  10. Kate, thank you for this excellent perspective. I plan to save and share with a few people dear to me who are facing this situation right now. As for me? I've had what amounts to 3 separate careers, loosely related. None of the changes were exactly my choice, either, so when I say this post is helpful, I speak from experience. Now retired from the day job life, I write mysteries and it is my favorite career. I took the long way around to my childhood dream. Who expected that?

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    1. For me, it was partly because I couldn't AFFORD to do what I wanted until I"d made enough to support a prolonged writing habit. And also I didn't know enough to know what I really wanted. Looking back, the way is a whole lot clearer than looking ahead.

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    2. oh love hearing this. So often it's not our choice but we have to make the best. I have a friend whose husband got transferred to London, and it upended her life in some ways but now she is thriving. She made it work and discovered whole new parts of herself.

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  11. Wow, Kate, that took guts to go from such a visible and high status job to cranking out suspense in a coffee shop. You are an inspiration!

    I've reinvented myself more than once; my husband says I've had a "varied, but not checkered, life". The biggest whiplash changes were from hotshot insurance agent to first teaching, and then writing about, sewing. With a ten-month side trip into kitchen design. None of those careers were related, but the writing dragged me into public speaking for over 15 years. I drew on my sales jobs for the aplomb and poise necessary for standing in front of hundreds of strangers, trying to give them good information about sewing for profit without also putting them to sleep!

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    1. Karen, a side question: as someone who sewed all her own maternity clothes and remembers when it actually was cheaper to buy fabric and sew a dress than to buy one, do you think sewing is coming back?

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    2. I think it's struggling, Hallie. Many of the good, independent fabric stores, much like the bookselling industry, have gone out of business. Schools are not teaching the craft, there are not as many sewing machine stores teaching sewing, and the pattern companies are abysmal.

      There was an upsurge for awhile, thanks to home schoolers, who were teaching self-reliance, and Project Runway also helped renew interest, but I'm not sure garment sewing is ever going to come back the way it used to.

      Also, it has not been cheaper to sew garments than to buy them for many decades now, thanks to cheap goods from overseas. I sewed more as a creative outlet and a way to get a higher level of fabric and workmanship, but not so much to save money. Unless you count being able to produce a couture-level garment at home as saving money. But lifestyles have also changed; who needs beautifully made dresses and suits any more? It makes me sad.

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    3. Oh this is very interesting, Karen. Yes, it's tough to go from high profile to much, much lower profile. Funny story: One day, about six months after I left, I got a text while I was in a movie from Seth Myers, saying he missed me. I was like, "OMG, I haven't been forgotten." But after I got out of the movie I discovered it was another guy named Seth Myers who used to write for the magazine. Well, at least HE remembered me! Bravo on your career as a public speaker!

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  12. I like to say I'm in the middle of my transformation. Life realities mean I still need the steady income from the corporate day-job. But I'm writing books and getting them published, so one day I'll be able to do what I really want to do full-time and kick that alarm clock to the curb!

    (Okay, my alarm clock is really my dog these days, so I'm not going to kick him to the curb - but you know what I mean.)

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    1. I wrote eight books while still at Cosmo, and it was tricky but worth it because it laid the foundation. You go, girl!!

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  13. This is a particularly poignant discussion for me today since in a week or two my husband will retire from a loooooooong career as a college professor. He has no idea how he'll reinvent himself and neither do I, as I've been in the reinvention business myself for decades.

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    1. Good luck to Jerry--and to YOU! My husband has been segueing into retirement for a couple of years now, and he's doing better than either of us expected. He's renewed several friendships, and now plays a lot of tennis again, and goes fishing and hunting more. Still working part-time, which is the key for him. I hope Jerry finds his best balance, too.

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    2. it just seems trickier for guys. Not sure why. Sometimes we have to give them gentle hints!

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  14. Kate just emailed me to say BLOGGER is giving her trouble... trying to resolve. In the meantime, I hope she'll tell her where the name Bailey Weggins came from. Curious minds...

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    1. Hey, I'm finally on as you can see. The Firefox tip did the trick. I had a friend who had a friend named Bailey and I just loved it. Then I just came up with Weggins. I think I meant Wiggins, which is a real name. Apparently there are no people with a last name of Weggins. But hey, that's part of the fun of writing, right?

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    2. I love that! I was reminded of the writer who created Mrs. Minivier and the author said he or she came up with the name from seeing a fashion ad?

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  15. I haven't reinvented myself. But I'm always looking for ways to reinvent myself as a mid-40's retiree. Sadly, I haven't figured out how to do that yet. :)

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    1. the best advice I've read is to go out into the world and bump into your next passion!

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  16. Hi Kate! I met you at Malice 28. Welcome to Jungle Reds and congratulations on your new novel. Interesting question about "reinvention". In my life, I feel that it took a while to find my AUTHENTIC self, which I already knew when I was a kid, then during my teens and twenties, I was trying to be something that did not fit my personality. In addition to being my authentic self, I feel it is also important to be the best version of myself too.

    And I love your quote about "What Ifs" in the purple bubble caption. Love the name of your heroine, Bailey. How did you pick the name Bailey?

    Diana

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    1. Diana, sorry for the late reply. I have a hysterical story of heading to a reading yesterday at 3 and not returning home until midnight. It involves the car service not only getting lost but breaking down on the way back. Oy...
      But I wanted to address your comment because what you say is so valuable. When we reinvent, it's a key time to yes, just as you say, find the authentic you if you aren't here yet. As much as I loved doing press in my Cosmo job, I always felt I had to represent the company and the magazine, and there was a certain pressure. Sometimes it didn't feel like me to be on that way. My new role feels very much like me. So happy you got there, too

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    2. Kate, thank you and I am happy that I got there too. I cannot imagine what it was like working at Cosmo magazine. Thank you for sharing a glimpse of what it is like working at Cosmo magazine. Bummer about the car service. Grateful that you survived and got home in one piece.

      Diana

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  17. Fantastic tagline! I am in. Congratulations on the book release, Kate! I can't wait to read SUCH A PERFECT WIFE.

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  18. Hi Kate! What a fun post today. I suppose I've reinvented myself a couple of times, the first in my twenties when I packed up and moved from Texas to Scotland to marry a man I'd only known for six weeks, the second in my mid-thirties when I decided to write a British crime novel (something no one thought I could do.) The crime writing turned out better than the marriage, but I regret neither.

    Your book sounds terrific, and love the cover!

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  19. I'm in a reinventing phase myself! It's funny Kate mentions appraoching it as if it's a mystery. I was thinking about my life and realized it has a lot of the beats of women's fiction. Peripatetic childhood and education leading up to the first beat: meeting husband. Marriage home and family, leading up to the second beat: becoming a writer. Success as an author leading up to the big reversal of fortune: husband dies. Clearly, I'm in the forth act of a five-act novel.

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    1. Just be sure to write yourself an outstanding final act, and make it a comedy! We all want a happy ending.

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    2. Julia, wow. That certainly is fiction meeting real life. And so sorry about your loss. Maybe it really does help to think of our lives as a series of acts. It helps us see meaning and us lets us know there is more to come.

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  20. The plot for this book sounds so good! As for reinventing, ? My husband found himself out of a job in his late 60s. He didn't believe in ageism when he started looking for work but I think he finally figured it out. People were happy for his advice and expertise as long as it was free. Consulting work never did pan out. He has now accepted he is officially retired and is filling his hours as a Red Cross volunteer. He loves it. As for me, I don't know what the hell I am doing. I took the boring career path that put me in an office all day so someone was always in town for our son while my husband was free to travel on business. I've always bobbed along in his wake, giving up jobs to move to a new place for his work. Now we're situated to be able to move to wherever I want (my choice!) and I'm having trouble narrowing it down. And finding the right house. And all sorts of other things. Reinventing? I don't know. I'm just trying to move forward and find a situation that will make me happy and not horrify my husband.

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    1. Don't be small. See above. Whittling down my own dreams to fit someone else's life trajectory was part of being married, but when my husband died, I vowed never again. You don't have to wait for tragedy. Go big!

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    2. Pat, as your husband found,reinvention can take some experimentation. I love this line from Barbara Corcoran: "You don't know what your passion is until you walk into it." I found that to be true. Go out into the world, take classes,hear lectures, volunteer, visit galleries, etc etc. Let yourself walk into it

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  21. Jungle Reds never fails to bring me great authors and books to add to my TBR list, and it so often coincides with me having just become aware of an author or a book on social media. Such a Perfect Wife is showing up on must-read lists from so many sources, and your appearance, Kate, here on Jungle Reds seals the deal for me. I don't know how I have missed your Bailey Weggins series, but I'm onto it now.

    I am always amazed when someone reinvents herself/himself. I guess I've done some changing which could be considered minor reinventing, and I certainly feel like I've changed greatly inside as a person from my 20s to my 60s. I think attending a high school reunion in 2012 brought some positive changes, as I reconnected with some people and then made a point of reconnecting with some others. I call that my year of reconnection and have tried to now be that friend who doesn't lose touch. And, 2013 was a big year for me, as I attended my first Bouchercon and started focusing my reading blog on mystery and crime, becoming a reviewer and reader with newfound passion. However, still at 65, I sometimes wonder what I'm going to be when I grow up.

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  22. Kathy, thanks so much, I'm thrilled my book made it to your must-read list.
    I'm in my 60's, too, and feel the same way you do. Not sure what the future holds or what I will be when I grow up. But love how game you are!!! See you hopefully at the next Bouchercon

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