phyllis | Her Mentor Center

Author Archives: phyllis

First-time Grandparents and Passover or Easter – Part One

by phyllis, March 26, 2013

Are you rushing around, preparing for the holidays and counting the minutes until you can hold the new baby? As a sandwiched boomer, you’re already squeezed between kids growing up and parents growing older. But now that you’re a grandparent, you get to take a bigger bite. Some say you don’t experience perfect love until the birth of your grandchildren. Others describe this as an opportunity to slow down and savor one of life’s most precious gifts. But you may have mixed emotions, feeling both excitement and apprehension. Perhaps you’re not … Continue reading →

Posted in adult children, parenting kids, sandwich generation, stress, well-being, your self | Tagged advice, Easter, family, first time grandparents, grandchildren, holidays, new parents, Passover, stress | Leave a comment

Virtual Book Tour with Sarah Pleydell

by phyllis, March 14, 2013

Today we’re delighted to welcome author Sarah Pleydell to our blog. We’ll be discussing her beautifully written novel, Cologne, described as “wise and subtle…..as provocative as it is riveting.” Sarah has graciously shared a lot of information, so let’s get started: Her Mentor Center: This is a work of fiction, but there are elements of autobiography/yourself in the story, correct? Sarah: I started writing this novel while I was finishing my MFA thesis. I was ready to write a second book and was learning firsthand the task of writing a … Continue reading →

Posted in intimate partner, parenting kids, stress, well-being, your self | Tagged childhood sexual abuse, Cologne, family, Her Mentor Center, Sarah Pleydell, sisters, Virtual Book Tour, war, writing | 13 Comments

Virtual Book Tour tomorrow

by phyllis, March 13, 2013

Please join us here at Her Mentor Center for a Virtual Book Tour on Thursday, March 14th, for our talk with award-winning writer, performer and playwright, Sarah Pleydell. She will be answering questions about her debut novel, Cologne. Set in 1960 and based on memories of Sarah’s childhood in London, this stunning novel has been twenty years in the making. She presents a portrait of a family and their German au pair on the cusp of great social change. Childhood and history collide, blurring the distinctions between victim and victor, ruin and … Continue reading →

Posted in intimate partner, parenting kids, stress, well-being, your self | Tagged au pair, author, childhood, Cologne, London, March 14, Sarah Pleydell, Thursday, Virtual Book Tour | Leave a comment

Can Women Have It All?

by phyllis, March 12, 2013

Here it is 50 years after “The Feminine Mystique” was published and women are still struggling with identity. Should we “Lean In” and grab ambition as the book recently published by Facebook’s COO Sheryl Sandberg suggests? Or let go of guilt and create a realistic work/family balance once and for all? Is it time to reignite the smoldering women’s revolution? Probably not. As I look back over 35 years of trying to do it all, I realize that these conversations will likely continue way past my lifetime. You see, there … Continue reading →