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What if the empty nest isn't the end of your parenting journey, but a new beginning—an opportunity to reconnect with yourself?

In this enlightening episode, Bernadette Catalana, author of Daughter Lessons: Wise and Witty Reflections on Leading, Learning From, and Loving our Daughters, challenges us to reframe this pivotal life transition.

Throughout the conversation, Bernadette dismantles common misconceptions that launching adult children signifies failure or loss. Instead, she celebrates it as the natural outcome of good parenting: “If you're doing it right, your children will leave your home and you'll get fired from the best job you ever had—and that’s the perfect outcome.”

Most profoundly, Bernadette reminds us that our children are not “our happiness projects.” Releasing expectations allows both parents and children to pursue authentic lives, leading to genuine happiness and meaningful connection.

Highlights & Key Takeaways:

• Understanding your mother’s relationships with her own mother can offer healing from “mother wounds.”
• Transitioning from “the sage on the stage” to “the guide on the side” in parenting encourages trust and autonomy.
• Children are individuals with their own paths, not reflections of parenting success or failure.
• Respect and trust in your adult children’s judgment strengthen your relationship and their autonomy.

Bernadette Catalana Bio
Bernadette Catalana is one of seven children—six of them daughters. She is also a lawyer, mentor, cooking enthusiast, and avid yoga practitioner. But the role she identifies with most is mother to Carly and Courtney. She grew up in Endicott, New York, raised her girls in Rochester, New York and currently lives on Central Park with her significant other and her Havanese, Jackson. Her daughters, who are now grown and starting families of their own, are both within walking distance. This is a collection of her many essays on motherhood.

Find Bernadette Online: Amazon (Book), Instagram, Facebook, Website.

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