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We worry putting our family first means we’ll be forced to abandon our careers. We’re afraid if we pause our careers, we’ll be forever off-track. This thinking is outdated—forget what you’ve heard about how pauses are career limiting, about how those who pause lack ambition, or that if you do pause you won’t be able to re-enter the paid workforce. That’s a flawed reality, one that doesn’t reflect the truth of the careers of some of the most successful women in this country. Author Lisen Stromberg knows this success firsthand. After the birth of her second child, she did something she never imagined she would do: she opted out to focus on her family. But her career didn’t end there. Lisen paused then pivoted to become first a social entrepreneur and then an award-winning journalist writing about women, work, and life in Silicon Valley. Along the way, she learned she wasn’t alone. Lisen met many highly successful women who told her they never “opted out” but who had, in fact, temporarily downshifted or paused their careers. Their hidden journeys revealed alternative nonlinear paths to the top that enabled them to achieve their personal and professional goals. In Work PAUSE Thrive, Lisen shares their stories. Deeply rooted in social science research, cutting-edge data collected from nearly 1,500 women, and through 186 first-person interviews, this book reveals how trailblazing women have disrupted the traditional career paradigm. What worked for them can work for you. In this book, you’ll learn: Who pauses, how they do it, and why How pausing can enrich both your career and your life How to innovate your own nonlinear career path What we can—and need—to do as a society to make it possible for more people to achieve their personal and professional goals Work PAUSE Thrive also reveals new and exciting trends in the workplace and offers targeted solutions for companies to help ensure they have cultures that will enable you to lead the life you want, a life in which you can build both a career and a family, and ultimately your own version of a life well lived.