Belle Burden

And I thought, okay, this is a silver lining that I can be like this.

And friends noticed too.

They noticed that I was just a little easier, a little like I let things go more easily.

You softened around the edges.

I softened around the edges.

I really did.

And that felt much more like the true me.

Yeah.

I think that's exactly right.

I think that the title really works in that way, too, because I had really lost that self-knowledge, I think.

In a marriage that I thought was very happy, but I had moved over those 20 years farther and farther away from...

what I believe were my passions and talents and a true knowing of myself.

And why had you done that, do you think?

I think a couple of reasons.

I think with three kids and the chaos of family, that can happen.

But I think in our situation, his career became so dominant

It was like the family enterprise and everything moved towards that.

And that was why he missed parent-teacher conferences and couldn't go to the birthday party on the weekend.

And I think when that happens, it is very easy for the other parent to really lose sight of that.

I believe, I think women who are not working, taking care of kids, have meaningful work in other ways.