Linda Rossetti: Mom, Wife, Daughter, Neighbor, Friend, Author, Sister, Daughter-In-Law, Sister-In-Law, Coach, Volunteer, Colleague, Employee, Mentor, Customer + Client.

What have you overcome? I’ve overcome a wrenching transition triggered by a personal unraveling that challenged me to the core of whom I am. I found myself at 45 not knowing the answer to some fundamental questions for the first time in my adult life. Questions like, ‘What really mattered to me?’ I had a demanding high-profile career up until that moment—Harvard MBA, tech start-up CEO, c-suite executive at a Fortune 500, and mom. The latter was added right around my 40th birthday. I had two children within sixteen months of each other.

As my children moved beyond baby carriers the conflicts between my various worlds, like my work world and my family world, took on epic proportions. One moment that was a wakeup call happened as I was in London on a business trip. Despite hours and hours of prep before my trip—creating lists for everyone from the nanny to my husband to the schools that my children attended—I overlooked a critical event. My daughter’s school had an early release day planned during my absence. I got a call in London from my husband that began, “She is all right.” She—my kindergartener—had been left waiting for someone to pick her up at early release. No one came. My husband quickly responded to the call from the school. Our daughter was fine. I was the one who suffered the largest blow.

That event was one of several triggers that together landed me at transition’s doorstep. The real issue that was percolating for me was the fact that the meaning I once ascribed to my career was eroding. The most important sentiment that I had at the moment was that there was something more for me. But what?

Transition is a process that requires us to re-examine our assumptions about identity, capacity, and values. The process served as a catalyst for me to dignify that which held value and meaning to me. It helped me step beyond a mine field of ‘shoulds’ that had influenced so much of what I’d achieved and welcomed into my life up until that moment.

Even though I chose the process—transition—I was not immune to the emotions that accompany its earliest stages. I felt guilty for not working 60 hours a week like my ‘successful’ peers. I was ashamed because I couldn’t answer the question, ‘what’s next for you, Linda?’ I was shocked by the way society wanted to instantly marginalize me. I was a persona non-grata for those still working full time or those involved on the professional treadmill that I’d known. The full time care givers that I met approached me with caution. I was incredibly alone. The isolation was palpable—enough at many moments to cause me to believe that the correct decision would be to stop my transition and revert back to working in my former vein. One long time friend’s comment sticks with me from that time. Upon learning that I’d temporarily stepped away from my crazy c-suite existence she said, “You, of all people.”

It would be incorrect to say my transition was a decision to stay home with my children—although they played an enormous role in it. My transition led me to many decisions including a work life that would allow for flexibility to be fully engaged in their worlds. Transition also challenged me to pursue more fully an interest in women’s development that I’d held since college.

My transition took nearly three years. About half way through I initiated a project that captivated my imagination—research on transition in women. I did this because I was frustrated by the lack of information available to me as I began my own process. I was amazed by what I learned and the incredible energy I encountered from the more than 200 women who participated in my research. I also emerged with an incredible knowledge base about transition and the process required to navigate it. I am thrilled to say that on November 3^rd of this year, Palgrave Macmillan will publish my book, Women & Transition: Reinventing Work and Life. When I got the phone call in London I was unaware of transition let alone what it would hold for me.

For more of Linda Rossetti, and the many faces of perseverance order your copy of the November | December, Overcoming Issue here. 

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Mavian Arocha-Rowe

Editor-in-Chief at Chispa Magazine

Mavian Arocha-Rowe is known as an asset to the business and communications industry and is motivating and advocating “your authenticity should be your strategy,” for all women, regardless of their season and roles. For the past 20 years she has directed magazines, plus multiple art and marketing departments as creative director and brand manager. What supersedes all of her great career moves is her role as wife and mother living in Atlanta. Challenging herself to discover and bravely pursue the calling for her life, Arocha-Rowe helps other women discover and pursue their life’s assignment. She is a passionate, and loud-laughing speaker on the topic of purposefully redeemed, and mentors young women so they can exercise a mind that is doctrinally pure, along with a heart that beats toward sanctification. She will almost never turn down Marlow’s Tavern double-tavern cheeseburger, a cooking-demonstration from Leaning Ladder, or any opportunity to head to Miami to spend time with family.

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