I first met Lori Mihalich-Levin soon after her first baby was born and when she was in the overwhelmed-by-baby-and-the-thought-of-returning-to-work stage. Our lunches were enjoyable but a bit somber. She was struggling, and I wanted to help her.
Lori and I had been connected by a mutual friend at Georgetown Law. Although there were many years between my years at the law school and Lori’s, we had a lot in common. Returning to law practice after not just one, but two, babies had been difficult for me, and now that was happening to Lori. It is hard to know what to say because law practice has its own set of rules. Nothing is easy there — especially for women.
In time, Lori figured it all out, as I knew she would. Lori’s overwhelmed stage morphed into the wisdom-and-I-can-do-anything stage, as with so many women who experience it. But, Lori did not stop there. She wrote down her thoughts and developed programs to pass on to others the benefit of all she had painstakingly learned. Lori is the exception. First she started a “Mindful Return” program, and then she wrote a book. In her spare time, of course!
You can read all about Lori, her book and her projects in this article in the Washington Post. It captures all of the profiles of the book, which is made richer by myriad contributions from experts in the many fields that combine to capture a daunting experience. Honestly, nothing in my life prepared me for the first time I had to drive away from my baby — not to the grocery store, not to the post office, and certainly not to the law office. It is in a league of its own for creating doubt and fear and longing.
But, that “baby” of mine is now a woman lawyer, too. Children survive and thrive, and so do Mommy Lawyers. But, it never hurts to have a little help from a friend.
Lori is that friend. Get the book!
