I've Been Thinking A Lot About Next

I've Been Thinking A Lot About Next Year, Which Will Be The First Time In 25 Years That I Don't Have A Child At Home.

So Much Of My Sense Of Who I Am Is Tied To Mothering. When They Left Home, I Fell Into A Huge, Empty, Black Hole. Your Children Are Grown And Your Career Has Slowed Down - All The Stuff That Took Up So Much Attention Is Gone, And You're Left With Expansive Time And Space.

Once I Started On 'frances' I Discovered It Was Literally A Bottomless Well. It Devastated Me To Maintain That For Eighteen Weeks, To Be Immersed In This State Of Rage For Twelve To Eighteen Hours A Day. It Spilled All Over, Into Other Areas Of My Life.

It Is An Embarrassing Time To Be An American. It Really Is. It's Humiliating.

The Natural State Of Motherhood Is Unselfishness. When You Become A Mother, You Are No Longer The Center Of Your Own Universe. You Relinquish That Position To Your Children.