There is a unique loneliness that occurs when a woman reaches the pinnacle of her professional career just as her biology decides to rewrite the rules.

As therapists, clinical supervisors, and social workers, our professional currency is empathy. We spend our weeks holding clean, safe, therapeutic spaces for other people’s trauma, grief, and life transitions.

If you work in education, you know the heavy sigh that accompanies the final week of June. As school hallways clear, well-meaning friends offer a familiar refrain: "Must be nice to have two months off!"