Episode Details

Returning to work after a career break can bring questions about confidence, identity, skills, and whether your experience still counts. Dr. Ann Marie Peters, executive coach, leadership strategist, and author of We’ll Be Right Back, wants women to understand something important: a career pause doesn't erase the experience, talent, or value you already have.

In this episode of Powerful on Purpose, Ann Marie shares her own journey from a Fortune 500 career through part-time work, full-time caregiving, entrepreneurship, and eventually earning her PhD. Her doctoral research became the foundation for We’ll Be Right Back, a book for women finding their way back to meaningful work after a career pause.

We talk about the identity shifts that can happen when women step away from paid work, the grief that can accompany changing roles, and why women often overlook the valuable skills they've developed while caregiving, volunteering, managing families, and contributing to their communities.

Ann Marie also shares what surprised her most in her research: many of the women she studied weren't ultimately hired through some faraway opportunity—they were recognized and pursued by people already in their communities who had seen what they were capable of.

Whether you're preparing to return to work, reconsidering what you want your next chapter to look like, or wondering whether you're still the capable woman you were before your pause, this conversation is a reminder that your first landing place doesn't have to be your final destination.

📕 Get We’ll Be Right Back
We’ll Be Right Back launches September 16, 2026 and helps women reconnect with who they were, recognize what they've gained during their pause, and move confidently toward whatever they choose next.

Learn more and get the book:
https://annmariepeters.com

🎁 Companion Workbook
A companion workbook to help readers capture their reflections and work through the questions and exercises in We’ll Be Right Back.

Get it inside the book or here:
https://www.annmariepeters.com/book-well-be-right-back

Subscribe to Powerful on Purpose for more conversations with brilliant women using their stories, expertise, and experience to create meaningful impact.

Chapters
00:00 Meet Dr. Ann Marie Peters
01:52 Choosing a career pause
04:56 Your unpaid work still counts
07:32 Reframe your career gap
09:08 Why women's stories matter
12:31 Reconnect with who you are
13:27 The hidden grief of change
15:02 From pause to leadership
18:05 Inside Will Be Right Back
19:23 Where opportunities really come from
21:09 Your next chapter may be best

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