Melinda French Gates opens up about ‘exciting and painful’ changes in life with three children

Melinda French Gates is opening up some of her life’s most “pivotal moments.” As a mom of three, who divorced one of the richest men in the world three years ago, the 60-year-old has undergone a number of changes over the past few years.

Now, she’s opening up about them in her new book titled The Next Day: Transitions, Change, and Moving Forward, according to a press release from Flatiron books in People.

“Over the last few years, I’ve experienced a lot of change — some of it exciting, some of it painful — so I’ve done a lot of thinking and learning about transitions,” Melinda explained. “I decided to start writing this while I was still in the middle of this season of change, rather than safely on the other side.”

She continued: “We’ve all had days that change our lives forever,” explaining that in her new book she hopes to tackle the topic of “what we do the next day, when one phase of our life has come to an end, but the next phase hasn’t quite yet begun.

“I’ve learned that if you can find the courage to linger in that liminal space, it has a lot to teach you.”

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The Pivotal Ventures founder hopes to reflect on some of her own “major transition points” in life, from becoming a mom to three children, attending college and even when she left her post at the Gates Foundation.

“I write a lot about the people and ideas that have been helpful to me during moments of uncertainty, and the process of revisiting all that wisdom I’ve relied on has made me appreciate it even more,” she said.

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Earlier this year, Melinda left the Gates Foundation, which she originally founded with ex-husband Bill Gates over two decades ago.

She described making the decision as “A complicated mix of emotions,” adding: “I’m sad to be saying goodbye, proud of all we accomplished, energized by what’s ahead, and excited to see what you do next. But the emotion I feel most strongly right now is gratitude.”

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As well as announcing her new book and leaving the Gates Foundation, it’s been a big year for Melinda and her family. Not only did her daughter Jennifer graduate from Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, but her youngest daughter Phoebe graduated from Stanford University.

Jennifer, 28, is set to start her residency at Mt. Sinai in the pediatric department.