We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ruth Nemzoff a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Ruth thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

My professional life has been a story of risks and taking advantage of any job or opportunity which came my way. By the time I was 65, I had taken plenty of risks, I found a job while pregnant at a time when it was socially unacceptable for a woman, let alone a pregnant woman, to hold many jobs. I started a job placement program for people with disabilities, successfully ran for the New Hampshire state legislature and became part of the leadership, and lobbied to become the state’s Deputy Commissioner of Health and Welfare. At age 50, I lost the political appointment and decided to become a professor. On day 1 of each of these jobs, I had no idea what day 2 would look like.

When I was told at 65 that my department at the University was being dissolved, part of me thought I was entirely justified in retiring and teaching a class or two. After one of my final lectures, a colleague asked me if I’d like to co-write a book about parenting adult children. I had never desired to be a writer. But, truthfully, I had nothing else to do, and a lifetime of accepting risks and excelling in new fields pushed me to accept. We spent 4 years pitching the book to various publishers with no success. In that time, my colleague moved onto other projects. One day, someone I had met at a wedding became head of the Parenting Division in Palgrave/Macmillan, a publishing company, She gave me an opportunity, but now I was a first-time writer with no experience and a book to deliver. Everything that came after that, from finishing the book, to its initial success, to running a press tour, to speaking around the world, to writing a second book, and pitching a third, all came from that one initial risk I took at 65. I was only emboldened to take that chance because I had lived a life of accepting challenges.

Ruth, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’ve written two books: “Don’t Bite Your Tongue: How to Foster Rewarding Relationships with Your Adult Children” and “Don’t Roll Your Eyes: Making In-Laws Into Family.” In both of them, I combined my experiences in the work world and as a mother of 4. I’m most thrilled when my readers tell me how I’ve positively impacted their own family relationships. When I published my books, my publisher sent me on a 3-month promotional book tour. When that ended, I didn’t stop traveling and speaking. I became my own speaking agent. Now, I’ve given over 400 talks and workshops on family relationships everywhere from America to India.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

What drives me to continue writing and speaking is that it makes me feel useful. It also allows me to use some of the knowledge I’ve gained. Now, in my 9th decade, the opportunities available for me are limited compared to when I was in my 30s. I have learned it is up to me to create my own path.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

When my first book was published and I faced the challenge of making a living as an author, I soon realized that being a creative required a lot more work than just creating. I had to develop a whole host of new skills. There were contracts to decipher, publicity deals to navigate, and work to do if I wanted to see my book in stores. I learned that the gratification of creating content is only possible with a willingness to do the work behind the scenes, even if it seems more dreary than coming up with great ideas.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://RuthNemzoff.com
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruth-nemzoff-56362ab/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/ruthnemzoff