My ability to support those women–in whatever small way–pushed me to navigate and renegotiate my own working motherhood throughout the pandemic. It also inspired me to bring to completion a project I had nearly gotten across the finish line until the pandemic put it on pause: the first edition of this book, Employed Motherhood. As a sole practitioner in an under-resourced area, I’ve always wanted to extend my reach beyond what I can do one-on-one. When I first set out to research market competitors on the subject of helping new moms transition back to work, I was disappointed (but not surprised) to find so few resources–especially when you consider what a large percentage of the population goes through this experience. After readjusting to the ever-changing new “normal,” I put the finishing touches on the book and put it out in the world in May 2021.

Now that the book has lived in the world for two years, it’s also become apparent that the landscape for working mothers has truly changed in every possible way–and so this book has to change to reflect those shifts. Remote work brought employers, colleagues, and clients into our homes, starting conversations about the invisible labor women disproportionately perform and the infinite bandwidth required to context-switch at the drop of a hat. That’s not to say anything was cured; but conversations got started, and now flexible work arrangements aren’t as rare as they once were.