Kathy Caprino
Overview
An essential new book for professional women in crisis
Are you a professional woman longing for a radical change? You're not alone.
Seven out of 10 working women report that they are facing a major turning point in their professional lives, according to Kathy Caprino, a Connecticut-based work-life expert and author of Breakdown, Breakthrough: The Professional Woman's Guide to Claiming a Life of Passion, Power, and Purpose.
"Professional women, particularly those in their middle years, are at a critical juncture," says Caprino, who, in conjunction with the Esteemed Woman Foundation, conducted a national research study--"Women Overcoming Professional Crisis: Finding New Meaning in Life and Work." Caprino explains, "After devoting years to building successful careers, most of them feel that their professional lives and identities no longer work."
In Breakdown, Breakthrough, Caprino reveals the key findings of her yearlong study--identifying the 12 common crises of professional women, including chronic health problems, failure to find work-life balance, and painful losses of the "real me." She also shares 14 deeply personal stories--her own included--and shows how women are overcoming crises of personal and professional identity. Additionally, she introduces a hands-on holistic model for breaking down and breaking through: sensible mind-body-spirit solutions and specific advice and tips.
A professional crisis--"breakdown"--is a wake-up call, warns Caprino, a trained psychotherapist and career and life coach. "It's telling you that major change in life or work is required--now."
The good news?
According to Caprino, if you let it, a breakdown can lead to something much better--a true "breakthrough" in how you work and live. She reminds women, however, that breaking through is a process--not a one-size-fits-all quick fix. Throughout that process, she recommends three steps: stepping back (to gain perspective); letting go (to do away with thoughts and actions that keep you stuck); and saying "Yes!" (to yourself and to developing beliefs and behaviors that open the door for change).
Other advice and insights:
- Why a woman's midlife is a time of reckoning and reevaluation
- The gender divide--how professional women break down in ways men don't
- How to tell a "tough time" from a true professional crisis
- 12 warning signs of a work-life breakdown
- The four levels of breakdown for women--in relationship with themselves, others, the world, and their "higher selves"
- What "disempowerment" and "empowerment" really mean for working women
- The power of denial--why women resist the word "crisis" and how it hurts them
- How to stop making excuses--and start dealing with fears
- Breaking through--one step at a time