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

by Neha Ruch

Overview

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, Mother Untitled, has become the leading voice and resource for women navigating this transition. In The Power Pause, Ruch addresses all the questions women face at this inflection point, such as, 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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593716182
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	01/14/2025
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	63,692
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.81(d)

About the Author

Neha Ruch is the founder of Mother Untitled, the leading platform for ambitious women leaning into family life. A thought leader, influencer, and sought-after speaker focusing on women, work, parenting and identity, Neha’s work at Mother Untitled is catalyzing a shift in how society views stay-at-home motherhood. Her book, The Power Pause: How to Plan a Career Break After Kids—and Come Back Stronger Than Ever, will be published by Putnam in January 2025. Neha lives in Manhattan with her husband, their two children, and their dog Coconut.

Editorial Reviews

11/04/2024

In this robust debut, Ruch, a former marketing professional and mother of two, details how women who leave the workforce to raise children can navigate the transition. Outlining steps for adjusting to living on one income, Ruch advises readers to draft a budget to determine whether such cost-cutting measures as renegotiating a mortgage or moving somewhere with a lower cost of living will be required. Other guidance focuses on psychological stressors, as when she recommends setting personal goals (e.g., “I want to work on standing up for myself”) to stave off feelings of listlessness. Elsewhere, she offers tips on reentering the job market, encouraging mothers to describe during interviews how parenting has improved their skills (“I might talk about developing a clarity of communication and a deeper sense of patience”). Ruch is candid about the downsides of taking a break from paid labor, noting, “Women who have paused their careers for more than twenty-four months tend to step into salaries earning 79 cents for every dollar a man who had not paused would earn.” However, her sage advice will help those who want to take the plunge. The result is a forthright take on an aspect of motherhood often overlooked by parenting guides. Agent: Kristin van Ogtrop, InkWell Management. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

"This book is a gift. Gender equality, strong families, and successful economic and social policy all require us to reframe how we think about work and family. The Power Pause helps show us how, in a how-to format that mothers will love." —Ann-Marie Slaughter, CEO of New America and author of Unfinished Business

“Neha is a powerful advocate for an underrepresented yet enormous segment of the mom population…They need her voice and encouragement now more than ever.” —Eve Rodsky, New York Times bestselling author of Fair Play

"The Power Pause reinforces that there's no one ‘right’ answer, instead giving mothers a more expansive way to think about ambition and family. Neha Ruch provides a clear guide to creating a rich, strategic family life so women can grow and thrive alongside their kids." —Dr. Aliza Pressman, New York Times bestselling author of The 5 Principles of Parenting

“In this robust debut, Ruch, a former marketing professional and mother of two, details how women who leave the workforce to raise children can navigate the transition...her sage advice will help those who want to take the plunge. The result is a forthright take on an aspect of motherhood often overlooked by other parenting guides." —Publishers Weekly

“By dispelling myth after myth about time away from the traditional workforce, Neha Ruch offers a compelling solution to make careers more sustainable in the middle of a burnout epidemic and childcare crisis. In a culture that has told women for too long that they can’t take their foot off the gas if they want to succeed, The Power Pause presents an original and game-changing way for a new generation to think about career shifts and family life as one part of a long and thriving journey.” —Arianna Huffington, Founder & CEO, Thrive Global

“Making women feel like they're alternately neglecting their families by working outside the home (or wasting their potential if they don't) is one of our culture's most insidious tricks: Many, if not most of us, are saddled with the resultant guilt and anxiety, which we then discharge on each other. Ruch offers an essential intervention—a deep breath to unhook from this programming and choose ourselves and each other instead.” —Elise Loehnen, author of On Our Best Behavior

From the Publisher