Susan Pohlman - A Time To Seek: Meaning, Purpose, and Spirituality at Midlife

Susan Pohlman takes us on a journey of the soul down Italys cobblestone streets and through magnificent cathedrals in search of lifes meaning at midlife. This is an exquisite book that urges us to look up and look inward with eyes open to the grace around us. With lyrical prose and vulnerability, Pohlman leads us quietly to a spiritual awakening.

Teri Rizvi, founder and director, Erma Bombeck Writers Workshop

For all of those poised on the edge of the empty nest, Susan Pohlmans new memoir is a must-read. A Time to Seek grabs the heart and doesnt let go.

Lee Woodruff, speaker and best-selling author of In an Instant, Perfectly Imperfect - A Life in Progress, and Those We Love Most.

In A Time to Seek, Susan Pohlman's rich, warm and spiritual meditation on midlife, she writes, "The longer you travel, the more you turn into yourself." Yes, indeed. A Time to Seek is filled with memorable moments and spot-on observations about creating a new sense of self, connecting to a higher power and making the most of your years. Plus, arm-chair traveling of the highest order! What an adventure she takes us on, as she returns to Florence, Genoa and Rome in search of peace and purpose. Laughter, learning and plenty of gelato. Highly Recommend.

Lian Dolan, producer and host of Satellite Sisters, and author of two Los Angeles Times best-selling novels, Helen of Pasadena and Elizabeth the First Wife, and soon to be published The Sweeney Sisters.

With her trademark warmth and inspiration, Susan Pohlman has penned a lyrical journey of personal transformation. She delivers an essential tale, rich with the unquenchable yearning of midlife transition. This book asks you to revisit the person you were before the world told you who to be, taking you on one womans nostalgic adventure of discovery.

Windy Lynn Harris, author of Writing & Selling Short Stories & Personal Essays: The Essential Guide to Getting Your Work Published

With wisdom, reverence, and grace, Susan Pohlman delivers a lyrical meditation on midlife and motherhood while traveling the cobblestoned streets of Florence, Genoa, and Rome. A Time to Seek is an absolute gem for those navigating the empty nest or a period of personal transition. I loved this book! Laura Munson, New York Times best-selling author and founder of the acclaimed Haven Writing Retreats.

"It takes a special kind of courage and willingness to be honest in midlife. Susan Pohlman, in A Time to Seek, artfully considers the intersection between motherhood, travel, and the reshaping of her personal narrative. Pohlman pulls the reader into a journey that's honest and redemptive, spontaneous and contemplative, and ultimately, a way to cultivate faith when confronting hard truths. Readers will find Pohlman's voice comforting and relatable and perhaps a good reminder to question and probe even when it isn't convenient.

Rudri Bhatt Patel, Founder and Editor of The Sunlight Press

Navigating the dicey road into her fifth decade, Susan Pohlman takes us on her inner journey in search of answers as she begins to release her identity as Mom. Traversing the beauty of both her own heart and the intrinsic beauty of Italy, we witness the fullness of her next becoming in her vulnerable and poetic prose."

~Arielle Ford, author of Turn Your Mate Into Your Soulmate

Susans second book had me hooked right from the beginning. As a wife and mother staring middle-age and the empty nest right in the eye, I continually rooted for the author throughout her series of Italian adventures while simultaneously reflecting on my own life.

Amy Carney, author of Parent on Purpose: A Courageous Approach to Raising Children in a Complicated World

Life's steady pull to the next moment, rarely suggests a long, deep breath, a meaningful pause. With great intention, we must make it otherwise. We must see what awaits when we seek a deeper truth. Open A Time to Seek, a book with a timeless message and universal purpose, and journey forth with this experienced traveler, this insightful author. It's the perfect antidote for troubled times. Clarity and mystery, endings and beginnings, merge beautifully in this wondrous new memoir by Susan Pohlman; it will hold you spellbound.

--D. A. Hickman, author of A Happy Truth, The Silence of Morning, and Ancients of the Earth: Poems of Time.

A Time to Seek is a brave, heartfelt, beautifully written exploration of the journey into midlife. Susan Pohlman uses the transformative power of travel to delve deep into her own sense of identity, spirituality, faith, love, and family. Enlightening and engaging reading, this book is a must-read for anyone struggling to confront change with grace and wisdom.

Karen McCann, author of Dancing in the Fountain: How to Enjoy Living Abroad

A Time to Seek

Published by Riviera Publishing

Copyright 2020 by Susan Pohlman

978-1-7346132-3-0 (Print)

978-1-7346132-2-3 (eBook)

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

Cover: Katie Bussoletti

For my mother

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

a time to be born, and a time to die;

a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;

a time to kill, and a time to heal;

a time to break down, and a time to build up;

a time to weep, and a time to laugh;

a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

a time to cast away stones,

and a time to gather stones together;

a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

a time to seek , and a time to lose;

a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

a time to tear, and a time to sew;

a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

a time to love, and a time to hate;

a time for war, and a time for peace.

Ecclesiastes 3:18 (ESV)

It sneaked up on mea few extra pounds, an unflattering reflection in a store window, a teen who called me maam and offered me his seat on the bus. One day I looked around, and it dawned on me that other people were seeing me differently.

It was not my best day.

Midlife begins quietly; there is no celebratory rite of passage or ritual to mark its onset. Our culture does not greet it with high-fives or open arms or recognition for a half century well done. Instead we receive birthday cards that tell us we are over the hill. So, we do our best to deny our aging for as long as possible which only prolongs our ability to make peace with it.

We are often left to figure out this complicated transition by ourselves. For many of us, it can be a lonely and confusing time as long buried or newfound yearnings claw their way into our consciousness, often disturbing carefully constructed lives. We turn to books and medical professionals for information; friends, husbands, and significant others for comfort; the privacy of a personal journal to make sense of our changing bodies and evolving roles. And we pray a lot.