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The Next Day

Transitions, Change, and Moving Forward

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

In a rare window into some of her life's pivotal moments, Melinda French Gates draws from previously untold stories to offer a new perspective on encountering transitions.

"[D]eeply personal... [Melinda French Gates] takes readers inside the moments that have defined her — becoming a mother, grieving the loss of one of her best friends, and grappling with the hard-earned lessons of philanthropy." —NPR

"You don't get to be my age without navigating all kinds of transitions. Some you embraced and some you never expected. Some you hoped for and some you fought as hard as you could."
– Melinda French Gates
Transitions are moments in which we step out of our familiar surroundings and into a new landscape—a space that, for many people, is shadowed by confusion, fear, and indecision. The Next Day accompanies readers as they cross that space, offering guidance on how to make the most of the time between an ending and a new beginning and how to move forward into the next day when the ground beneath you is shifting.
In this book, Melinda will reflect, for the first time in print, on some of the most significant transitions in her own life, including becoming a parent, the death of a dear friend, and her departure from the Gates Foundation. The stories she tells illuminate universal lessons about loosening the bonds of perfectionism, helping friends navigate times of crisis, embracing uncertainty, and more.
Each one of us, no matter who we are or where we are in life, is headed toward transitions of our own. With her signature warmth and grace, Melinda candidly shares stories of times when she was in need of wisdom and shines a path through the open space stretching out before us all.

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    • Library Journal

      November 1, 2024

      Philanthropist and businesswoman Gates (Moment of Lift) considers significant transitions in her own life--becoming a parent, the death of a dear friend, and her departure from the Gates Foundation--and offers guidance on how to navigate such moments and move forward. With a 300K-copy first printing. Prepub Alert.

      Copyright 2024 Library Journal

      Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

    • Kirkus

      June 1, 2025
      Words of encouragement for women facing changes, from the noted philanthropist. Toward the end of this slim volume, the author confesses, "I wish I knew the secret to overcoming your fears, conquering self-doubt, and finding comfort in your own skin. But over the last few years, as I approached the age of sixty, I finally realized that the 'secret' may be nothing more than time. Time and experience." That may well be true, but it does cast a bit of doubt on French's decision to write this book. In it, she shares a few personal anecdotes as well as snippets of poetry and other received wisdom that she has found useful in navigating life transitions such as leaving home for college, becoming a working mom, ending her marriage, leaving the Gates Foundation, and turning 60. Among the familiar self-help notions revisited are psychologist Donald Winnicott's notion of the "good enough" parent, the U-shaped curve of happiness that predicts a peak at 70, and lines from inspirational poets like Mary Oliver and David Whyte. Readers will find little drama, few intimate details ("Bill has publicly acknowledged that he wasn't always faithful to me while we were married," she writes), and not much actual storytelling after early chapters describing her great relationship with her father and the death of a close friend. Interviews with Oprah Winfrey, Gayle King, Reese Witherspoon, Billie Jean King, Michelle Obama, and others result in an interesting list of their defining transitions (e.g., coming out as a lesbian, surviving betrayal, leaving the White House) but offer little insight beyond that. Her previous book, The Moment of Lift, offered a more substantive approach. A well-intentioned mix of mild memoir and familiar inspiration.

      COPYRIGHT(2025) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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