Written by Candace Allan, ‘Text Me, Love Mom: Two Girls, Two Boys, One Empty Nest’ reaches out to the millions of Boomers whose hyper-parenting styles make their children’s’ departure from home a tough, terrifying and often difficult experience. Allan has seen her own four children leave home and, while she initially struggled to counsel and guide them from afar, she eventually embraced the opportunity for them to find their own way in the world. This is a bold instructional manual for other parents facing the same dilemma, told with wit, wisdom and poignancy. “Every angst-ridden, sleepless night and panicky early morning musing will feel familiar as you take this poignant trip, along with her lovable family,” says critic Jo-Ann Mason.
Calgary, AB -- (SBWIRE) -- 12/05/2014 -- For Candace Allan, it all went so quickly. Four beautiful children were born, grew up and have now left her with an empty nest. Allowing them to 'fly away' was a harrowing experience; her eldest daughter left for University in another Province, her first son to take up a job at a ski resort, son number two to enter an Ashram and her youngest daughter for an exchange in Italy. As a self-confessed hyper-mom, Allan initially tried to 'iParent' from afar, but eventually accepted the new family dynamic and now revels in all her babies have achieved.
But Allan is acutely aware that millions of other hands-on parents find kids flying the nest to be a wrenching experience; some so affected by the possibility of not being able to actively parent that they do all they can to keep their kids at home. In 'Text Me, Love Mom: Two Girls, Two Boys, One Empty Nest' Allan has a message – let them fly; it's now time to be super-mom in the next stage of parenting.
Synopsis:
In an age where our kids are helicopter parented and bubble wrapped, this mother of four isn't looking forward to her four talented, artistic children leaving the family home. Bubble after protective bubble bursts as her troupe queues up and flies off to distant places. Candace Allan attempts to iparent from afar through sometimes turbulent, sometimes funny, and always curious new times. 'Text Me, Love Mom; Two Girls, Two Boys, One Empty Nest' is a heartfelt ode to learning how to let go when all you want is to hang on tight.
With a quick wit and experienced insight Candace Allan shares her methods of valiantly counselling her wandering offspring from afar. She struggles to stay connected to them during their flights from home during this anxious time of back and forth texting, consoling, and inescapable drama that goes on as everyone in the family gets their bearings again. 'Text Me, Love Mom; Two Girls, Two Boys, One Empty Nest' offers an opportunity to contemplate and laugh over the perpetual trial and error of another stage of parenting.
Buy it for yourself cause it's a fun, smart read – get a copy for your mom, sister, wife, dad, sobbing woman across the hall - you know, that person who can't quite get a handle on the kids 'booking' it from home. Available internationally in print and digital from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kindle, Kobo and all your favourite on-line dealers.
"My generation of what I call 'hovering parents' struggles more than anyone else to give their children the freedom to grow up. Part of this process is letting them leave," explains Allan. "I agree that it's a life-changing experience for a mom or dad, but it doesn't mean that they stop being a parent. In fact, their duties become more important than ever, as they begin to parent on a grander scale and help their kids along a transition through which only they can provide guidance."
Continuing, "I miss my bubble-wrapped children dearly, and found the overnight adjustment as each one left to be nothing but shocking. However, parents are more prepared than they think for this next stage in their family's life and, through my own victories and blunders, I hope to provide both reassurance of this preparedness as well as practical advice on keeping your family closer together than ever before."
Readers have left a string of five-star reviews. David Hambley comments, "Candace Allan's new book is a must-read for those brave souls parenting children of all ages. Allan's tales of her four offspring as they leave the family nest promises to take readers on a vicarious journey that turns out to be one wild ride!"
Wanda Lewis adds, "This book is a must read for anyone with children. You're not alone!"
'Text Me, Love Mom: Two Girls, Two Boys, One Empty Nest' is available now: http://amzn.to/1zUxos1.
About Candace Allan
Candace Allan's story telling skills won their first major awards in Miss Simon's grade four class. She finely tuned her talent at the University of Victoria, graduating with a major in creative writing. Setting out to write the great Canadian novel, she was soon distracted by raising her bevy of children. Allan found short stories suited her chaotic schedule and wrote more award winning fiction, before turning her life into fodder for humorous parenting anecdotes, which were published in a short series in Canadian Living magazine and broadcast on national radio. She briefly escaped her crew of children to study at the Banff Center for the Arts and has won the Alberta Views Magazine fiction prize twice. When her four adventurous children started to leave home she called up lessons from Miss Simon and self-medicated her helicopter-parenting reactions by writing, 'Text Me, Love Mom; Two Girls, Two Boys, One Empty Nest.'