Orillia District Collegiate and Vocational Institute (OCDVI) graduate Jennifer McGuire has published her first book, Nest: Letting Go from Italy, France, and Ireland.
The 48-year-old Owen Sound native wrote the book to tell her life story of being a single mother, raising four boys on her own, and how she adapted after they grew up and moved on from the nest.
“I was 21 when I had my first child. I had them in short succession, and then I left my husband when my youngest was two,” McGuire explained.
“There is a chapter in the book about a little bit of a breakdown I had. People often asked me how did I do it? And the truth is, often times you don’t.”
McGuire says once her kids had moved out, she was left feeling lost, which, she notes, is a common feeling for middle-aged mothers.
“When my kids grew up I had a little bit of a moment where I didn’t know what I was supposed to do. When you become a mom that is all you are, and you lose your identity completely,” she explained.
After not being anywhere beyond the grocery store for years, McGuire moved to Europe where she lived by herself in Italy, France, and Ireland. After some time had passed, McGuire began to figure out how to be on her own.
“I had never been an adult before without having other people to consider, and that was genuinely terrifying for me. I actually had days where it was like I could just not get out of bed and no one would care. I wasn’t needed by anybody which in the beginning is really scary,” she said.
“The whole emptiness thing is something that I think a lot of women don’t prepare for, and even if they think they do, they don’t really. So, that’s kind of why I wanted to write this book, it’s to help women with the loss of the life they had known for 20 some odd years," she said while in Orillia to sign copies of her book at Manticore Books.
McGuire says writing her first book was relatively free of any challenges. For the most part, everything came naturally to her.
“Every day my process was I’d go out for a massive hike in the morning, and I would make notes on my phone. My walk would be about thinking about that day’s thing and that’s how the book came about,” she explained.
“Through this experience, I learned that I’m my own person, independent from my kids. I have my own full rich life, my own friends, things I like to do, and that was a really powerful thing to learn about myself.”
McGuire has received plenty of positive feedback on her book. The main contributor to the book’s success is how relatable it is for middle-aged women, retired women, and even young women, she explained.
“I had a lot of younger moms reach out to me and say they didn’t really think about what they are supposed to do when they are done raising their kids, and now they are starting to think about it,” McGuire said.
Nest: Letting Go from Italy, France, and Ireland is available for purchase at Manticore Books in downtown Orillia for $25.95.
To connect with McGuire follow her on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
