The Empty Nest - by Karen Stabiner (Paperback)

About the Book

A heartwarming, wry, and often surprising collection of essays from 31 writers about the next rite of passage for Baby Boomers: what happens when the kids leave home.

Book Synopsis

A heartwarming, wry, and often surprising collection of essays about the next rite of passage for Baby Boomers: what happens when the kids leave home

As the baby boom generation ages -- the oldest are now turning sixty -- many of them are learning to deal with a whole new way of life, after the last child has finally moved out and they are, once again, alone. It's the same milestone their own parents faced, but as with so many other markers, this generation approaches it in a whole new way.

In this fascinating collection, journalist Karen Stabiner has assembled essays from thirty-one writers about their own experience with the empty nest. Parents whose children left home last week join those with grandchildren to explore how life changes once the offspring leave (unless, of course, they move back in again later). They represent the full range of experience -- from traditional nuclear families to single parents to gay parents to grandparents -- with humor, grace, and poignancy.

About the Author

Karen Stabiner is a journalist who writes about food, health, and family issues. Some of her previous books include Family Table, a two-year collaboration with James Beard award-winning Michael Romano; the novel Getting In, a comic look at the college admissions sweepstakes; My Girl: Adventures with a Teen in Training, a finalist for the Books for a Better Life Award; and All Girls: Single-Sex Education and Why It Matters. She is a regular contributor to the Los Angeles Times' Opinion section, and her work has appeared in publications including the New York Times, the Columbia Journalism Review, O: The Oprah Magazine, Vogue, Los Angeles Magazine, and the New Yorker. She lives in New York City with her family.