A biblically based story that will make you think.
Letting go of guilt is so hard to do. Then throw in children having issues. I had to learn tough love when our son was acting out. And, trying not to feel guilty was very hard.
This is a beautiful book to help parents get through life struggles.

This book has the potential to be an excellent resource for parents who are finding themselves at a crossroads in life…the kids are raised—what now? There’s a great deal of spiritual guidance and encouragement for parents to determine what to hold on to and what to let go of, building relationships with their adult children, and not letting this change steal your joy. This is such an underrepresented topic and feel that it could be easily geared toward the secular market and still offer wisdom and inspiration for a wider cross section of empty nesting parents. I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley and was under no obligation to write a review.

A lot of sound and helpful advice on how to maintain good relationships with your children once they have flown from the nest. It really got me thinking as well because a few of the advice may be debatable if you come from a traditional Asian culture. Still worth considering for sure.

Also, great biblically-based guidance on what to do with your life and your relationships once your nest is empty so that you not only survive but thrive! I really appreciate the list of questions to ask yourself about your relationship with your spouse. Will work through those at a slower pace.

Well-written with many honest and open stories from the author's own experiences. Overall a great book for parents who are about to have or are facing an empty nest.

It can be hard to let go and let those little birds leave the nest to fly on their own. This book has been so very cathartic by reminding me that parents help build the foundation and it is up to the kids to build their own structure. They might need to renovate or they might choose a style that is complete different from my own but that is because they are their own people. A wonderful reminder to give it to God and to zip one's lips unless asked for advice. Perfect for creating new goals and for figuring out a new flight pattern now that we have all moved into a new chapter and for the kids, well they have starteed a new book to author for themselves. While this was written by a mom for moms it is really a good book for both parents to read and discuss together.

Being a midlife almost empty nester, I am always looking for books on the topic. Midlife women have a unique set of circumstances, life changes, job & family dynamics, friendships. When the kids leave the roost that bring in an entire difference set of challenges
Empty Nest Full Life by Jill Savage covers a lot of these issues. Difficulties with her adult children, and her own future needs. The book is written with a biblical tone which I appreciated. The chapters close with a word of truth, and action, and prayer. Although my personal midlife situation isn’t similar to the authors, I gained insight into other areas in my life that need “tweaking”.
Overall, I would recommend this book for anyone that is looking for midlife clarity and direction.

Great tips to handle the empty nest. It’s been very hard on me not having my kids around, I didn’t know how to be. Everything I did was for them for more then 20 years. This book helped me to let go. To learn how to live for me.

Empty Nest, Full Life: Discovering God’s Best for Your Nest

by Jill Savage

Parents, but mothers in particular, spend almost twenty years preparing their children to fly out of the nest and into the world of adulthood. It turns out that the releasing can be as hard as the preparation. There are issues of control, especially if you have boomerang kids. Mothers are good at piling guilt on themselves when things don’t work out perfectly or as expected for their kids. Grandkids are a blessing, but they come with their own set of issues. The list goes on and on.

Jill Savage, a speaker and teacher of the Bible, who has endured her own personal trials, shares Biblical wisdom and personal anecdotes to illustrate her viewpoints on various subjects related to the “empty nest” in Empty Nest, Full Life. The first half of the book is entitled “Let Go!” and discusses the problems encountered during the empty nest season. It speaks of letting go of expectations, guilt, opinions, traditions, your child’s problems, and your own idols (the things that steal your attention away from God, the things you use to identify yourself). Part Two is called “Hold On!” and within that section lie ideas for what to actually do during that season of the empty nest. Savage encourages you to grab hold of a new mission field, passions, and friendships. She encourages you to revitalize your marriage and your relationship with God.

Each chapter closes with a truth from the Bible, an action step, and a prayer. The book itself ends with encouragement for the next season, a list of questions to help you identify current or past baggage that has affected your marriage, reference notes, and a discussion guide for a leader to use in a small group setting.

My personal nest has been empty for a number of years so I am not approaching or in the middle of an empty nest crisis. I would imagine, however, that this book would be helpful for those wondering how to deal with their new found “freedom.”

I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Moody Publishing for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 4/5

Category: Christian, Parenting and Family

Publication: August 6, 2019—Moody Publishers

Memorable Lines:

Expectations will get us in trouble every time. They set us up for disappointment and leave us feeling disconnected.

Studies indicate the brain isn’t fully developed until the age of twenty-five. Yes, that means that our kids are now setting their own priorities when they’re not actually fully equipped to do so.

My friend Becky says that when she’s tempted to address something with her adult son, she tries to think of how she would address it with a friend. Most of the time she realizes she wouldn’t address it with a friend at all! This helps her find self-control and pray instead.

I found parts of this book very helpful and parts didn't sit very well with me. The author does a great job of teaching the reader to let go of all kinds of things -- trying to control adult kids, feeling shame for how they may have turned out (one of her kids came out as gay and another got his girlfriend pregnant when they were practically homeless, and she also talks vaguely about one of her kids having bad criminal and mental health issues), etc. That said, I didn't necessarily agree with the hard line approach she advises. For instance, she says she offered to drive one of her kids to the homeless shelter when he didn't keep up with an agreement about supporting himself (she says he declined the ride and he ended up living in the shelter for a few months if I remember correctly). I haven't walked her walk and don't know her situation, but I personally would not let my kids end up in a homeless shelter even if I felt they weren't doing enough to support themselves. That's not judgment, just saying that's not my way as a mom. That said, lots of the book was very useful, especially about letting go as a parent.

This book starts out with a lot of self reflection questions. This makes sure you know all about yourself and how you can move toward sharing yourself with others.
Chapter one starts in on Letting Go of Expectations... moves on to letting go of guilt, opinion, traditions, your child's problems and Idols. Wow! Whew...
Part 2 is all about grabbing hold of Your new mission field, new passions, new friendships, your marriage and God's Hand! I really feel this book will help parent's get through some of these areas!


I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley on behalf of the Publisher and was under no obligation to post a favorable review.

I approached this book with an open mind. My husband and myself have been empty-nesters, almost three years now. Although, our college daughter, the last to leave is only an hour away and we see her often. As she prepares for law school away, next year, I find myself struggling. This read helps enlighten us about our relationships with our college daughter to our married children, their spouse and our grandchildren. I take away a few things that we as parents can do to help our relationships grow in and beyond our home. Great read!

I received a copy from the publisher. All reviews are of my own.

We spend our lives nurturing our children giving them everything we have. Then in a blink of an eye, they grow up, move away and start their own lives. How dare they? What is left of us? Who are we? What do we do now that our children are grown? How do we move on to the next chapter of our lives?

In this fabulous book by Jill Savage, she not only answers all of our questions, but she does it from a biblical perspective. When I read this line “Our kids need an imperfect role model because they are imperfect themselves. God used your imperfections to perfect you and your kids.”, I took a deep sign and thought “ I never thought of it that way”. Chapter after chapter I was highlighting key messages for myself like “No guilt trips, no sarcastic comments, no underhand manipulating to get your way. Straightforward, honest communication surrounded with love and grace will give your changing relationship its best opportunity”. I learnt how to deal with my empty nest but also how to deal with my now adult children. This is one book I will reference again and again to give me comfort and strength in this new season of life. It couldn’t have come at a more perfect time in life. Do yourself a favor, pick up this book, grab a highlighter and get ready to transform yourself from an empty nest to a full life. Thank you to Moody Publishers, Jill Savage and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy and review this book.

Review of Empty Nest, Full Life: Discovering God's Best for Your Next, by Jill Savage

Jill Savage compares the empty nest years to the encore of a musical. You get to pick your favorite parts to play again, she says. You can enjoy being a grandparent without having to stay up all night with a fussy kid. It should work this way in theory, but I have a friend who is single-parenting the son of her 30-something-year-old mentally challenged son. She loves her grandson dearly, but raising him was not what my friend had envisioned for her retirement. Life isn’t so cookie-cutter neat as to reward every parent with an encore season, especially for the economically depressed or those who deal with chronic illnesses.

Even so, Empty Nest explores many relevant concepts from a Biblical viewpoint. Savage writes candidly about her Christian family grappling with the news that one of their sons called to tell them he is gay, and another son who called to say his girlfriend was pregnant. When you reach the empty nest stage of life, it is time to let some things go and grab hold of other things. One of the things you may need to let go is the idol of what other people think of you. When your adult children call with news that is upsetting, is what others will think of you one of the first things you consider?

Savage suggests holding onto relationships. She says your kids probably already know where you stand on moral issues, and the color of their hair isn’t important, even in family photos. Give them words of affirmation. Don’t enable, but love.

The most encouraging part of Empty Nest for me is seeing that although Jill Savage has spent years in ministry, she admits to the same types of struggles and disappointments I might have in my own family. Yet, she is not defeated by it. She isn’t bogged down with self-blame, but she is carrying on with what God has called her to do.

Empty Nest, Full Life is aimed right at me! Both my children will be heading off to college in the fall. It helped me identify what was bothering me about them leaving. The book had very practical advice on how to relate to my kids as adults. It had topics about relating to our spouse, our friends and ourselves now that the kids are out of the house.

The book was divided into two main parts. Part 1 was about letting go. It talked about letting go of our expectations, guilt, opinions, traditions and your child's problems. I personally find that letting go of guilt and my child's problems to be the hardest for me. The advice in these chapters were very helpful to me.

Part 2 was about holding on or grabbing hold of. Some of the topics were grabbing hold of new passions and friendships. Holding on to your marriage and God's hand. I found the topics about friendship and marriage to be the most helpful to me.

This book is aimed at a Christian mom. I highly recommend.

I received a free copy from Netgalley for an honest review.

Thank you to Net Galley and Moody Publishers for the chance to read and review this book. This best word I can use to describe this book is HOPE. When you get a certain age and your children leave home, it is such an empty feeling. The author gave me hope and helped me see that I still have a lot to offer the world! Such a good book for us empty nesters. It is a book I will return to again and again. I plan to copy all the Bible verses and good advice onto note cards to have as reminders that I am a great person. Thank you for this wonderful book Jill Savage! Such inspirational advice!

This book offered excellent advice for new Empty-Nesters. The author covers a number of relevant topics, including new friendships, new relationships with children, new interests and activities, marriage, and sex during the Empty Nesting years. This would be a great book for adult Bible studies or small groups geared towards the late forties and fifties age range.

Although this book is clearly aimed at a devoutly Christian market, it has excellent advice for all people in this age range. Though I am a Christian, I would have liked to have read this advice and words of wisdom without all the Christian scripture and jargon. I think with some revisions, this book could have appealed to a very wide audience. I have not read anything else like it on the secular market, and it clearly fills a niche.

As a Christian mother of two adult children, I was the perfect target reader for this book. My youngest child graduated from college a year ago and I felt strange. As Jill Savage suggested, I was struggling somewhat with my purpose now. I have also been sad because neither of my children is walking with the Lord.
This book is very encouraging to Mom’s. Although Savage has had a successful ministry to both mothers, and now to spouses, she and her husband do not have perfect children or have they had a perfect relationship. One of my favorite quotes is this near the beginning of the book: “God used your imperfections to perfect you and your kids.”
There are chapter about how to relate to your adult children, about your marriage, and about how God may use you in this next season of life. There is also a discussion guide included and this book would be fantastic for a book club or Bible Study group. I highly recommend this book.

This was a book that was written very well!I felt like I was part of the book and I could walk behind the characters as I read it.I didn't get lost the writing went on a very even flow. Jill didn't make me feel confused. I loved this book and. I would recommend it . Jill writing is fabulous and I love her work.