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 | The Year I Saved My (downsized) Soul: A Boomer Woman’s Search for Meaning…and a Job, is a memoir written by veteran marketing executive, Boomer expert and author Carol Orsborn, Ph.D. Orsborn began keeping a daily journal of her tumultuous journey through recessionary times while finding herself downsized from a corporate job in marketing. Struggling to make sense of both personal and societal tribulation, she found herself testing the spiritual principles she’d been sharing in her previous 15 books. While searching for meaning…and a job, Orsborn ultimately shows the way to embracing both the despair and delight of what it means to be fully alive. The book has a happy ending, with Orsborn landing a job in the social networking world. |
"Reinventing myself in the public eye as senior strategist for Vibrant Nation, interacting with the thousands of bright, successful women in our community, I soon realized that the feelings of vulnerability and self-doubt I was experiencing were not signs of individual failure but shared by even the most accomplished women of my generation," says Orsborn, who has published with Three Rivers Press/Random House, William Morrow and Avon Books, among others, and who now serves as senior strategist with VibrantNation.com.Vibrant Nation founder and CEO Stephen Reily chose Orsborn's latest book to launch VN books because "Carol’s voice emerges organically from the mature world of social networking, embodying both the anti-authoritarian and irrepressible trajectory of her remarkable generation of women."
Hear what others are saying about The Year I Saved My (downsized) Soul:
"Your feelings and the unrelenting questioning absolutely resonated with me, as someone who was downsized just before my 50th birthday. You wrote so clearly of my jumbled questioning in the past year.
Without sounding whiney or unreasonably depressed, you really were able to articulate legitimate, heart-felt soul searching. I was struck by how strong you sounded, even in the depths. Even as “a worm,” you didn’t wallow. The glimmer of your “core self” was clear early on. I really congratulate you on persevering. You didn’t settle for less; you kept looking for work that would “follow your bliss.”
Your book needed to be written -- I have said a half-dozen times in conversations, “Think of all the photos we’ve seen from the Great Depression of people standing in bread lines and unemployment lines, and today so many people are going through such hardships, with no view of all the suffering on the front page.” I think many, many people will respond very well to it -- and gain hope and strength.
I have!" Eileen in Pennsylvania
"Carol does an excellent job mining the mindset of many Boomers, women and men." Chuck Nyren, author of Advertising to Baby Boomers
"The Year I Saved My (downsized) Soul is the Eat, Pray, Love book for job seekers." Jill Konrath, author of Get Back to Work Faster and founder of GetBacktoWorkFaster.com
"As Carol's story came to a close, I clapped - for Carol, for me, and for all who take a leap of faith and jump into the pool of life without checking to see if there is any water in it and are left standing ... on both feet!" Janice Taylor, Our Lady of Weight Loss
"It is a great, easy read that gives marketers a lot of insight into what many of today’s Boomer women may be experiencing." M2W E-ssentials
"I highly recommend Orsborn’s book. Whether you are experiencing your own downsizing, or the downsizing of your friends, it will certainly give you the compassion and direction needed for another baby boomer life stage." Dotsie Bregel, National Association of Baby Boomer Women
"In light of the current debate (if you can call it that) going about changes to the US health care industry and the UK's NHS it was also interesting to read how many times the link between employment and health insurance was mentioned. You need some radical thinking when you are approaching the Big 50, with no job and no health insurance." Dick Stroud, 20plus30
"To lose a job is to lose a sense of self, of personal identity, as well as to lose a sense of financial security. Saving a sense of self-confidence through one rejection after another is often the greatest challenge of any recession. Carol Orsborn deals with this issue head on. Not only does she enable people to deal with this deeply personal and often secret dimension of joblessness, she shows them a way beyond it. With humor and honesty and care. This is not a self-help book, it is a book the gift of which is self-understanding when we need it most." Joan Chittister, OSB
"I recently read Carol Orsborn's The year I Saved My (downsized) Soul: A Boomer Woman’s Search for Meaning -- and a Job. What a joy! It's not a 10-step book to finding a job. There are lots of those around. It's a witty and personal look at the trauma of being downsized when you didn't see it coming, the financial shock and reality, the FEAR of losing health insurance and a climb back to finding meaning, yourself -- and in her case a new job.
If you're a boomer out of a job or fear being out of a job, you'll recognize her moments of despair and find yourself laughing with her through moments of discovery. And it has a happy ending -- just what we need for these tough times!
This economic meltdown has taken its toll on all generations -- not just our retirement accounts but our spirits. So Carol's book is a good reminder for the currently employed that "it can happen at anytime." And to the unemployed, a lifting look at one who got knocked down and is back in the game -- stronger and more vibrant." Laura Rossman
"Carol's book is a must read for anyone who wants to thrive regardless of conditions. It is beautifully written, substantive, inspirational and authentic. Her honesty is pure and humanity evident. The book is a treasure." Helen Denn
| book excerpt and other writings by Carol Orsborn |
