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Inspiring Voices - Christa Metzger Dr.

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95 pages

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Losing your job feels the same whether its that of an executive, a manager, a factory worker, or a store clerk Christas metaphor of being lost in a dark forest perfectly illustrates this experience. Read Christas insightful book and feel understood! Learn from her insights and see how to make it through. Dr. Stephen L. Sokolow, Executive Director of the Center for Empowered Leadership As Dr. Christa openly shares, her time of unemployment was an emotionally devastating experience The rich fruit of her sensitive and thoughtful reflections is the treasure contained in this book An added benefit is that the lessons about job loss have relevance for any kind of loss you might experience, such as the death of a loved one, the break-up of a relationship, or the loss of your health. Dr. Wilkie Au, professor of Theological Studies at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles Anyone who is unemployed, or knows someone who is, needs to read Christas story told from journals she kept during her job loss. She depicts the stark realities of this experience with humor and insights gained from looking back years later and seeing how this dark journey led her to light. This would be a great gift book from a caring friend! Serena Santillanes, MS, National Certified Counselor (NCC), Master Career Counselor (MCC), President and Founder of Career Journeys, Inc. Many years ago, when what befell Christa happened to me, I wish Id had her book on my bedside table. My own painful transition into a new life would have been far, far easier. Robert W. Cole, Proprietor, Edu-Data, Former President, Educational Press Association of America

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Popular psychology

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Publié par	Inspiring Voices
Date de parution	18 novembre 2011
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781462400201
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0240€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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Unemployed

A Journey Through the Dark Woods

Dr. Christa Metzger

Copyright © 2011 Dr. Christa Metzger

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Photographs by Kathi Rippe with permission:
COVER: Photographed at Yosemite National Park
DEER for CLEARINGS ICON: Photographed at Black Bute, Oregon

Inspiring Voices books may be ordered through booksellers or by contacting:

Inspiring Voices
1663 Liberty Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403
www.inspiringvoices.com
1-(866) 697-5313

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

ISBN: 978-1-4624-0019-5 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-4624-0020-1 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2011939917

Printed in the United States of America

Inspiring Voices rev. date: 11/8/2011
Contents
Dedication
Foreword
About the Author
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Concluding thoughts
References

ENDORSEMENTS

Losing your job feels the same – whether it’s that of an executive, a manager, a factory worker, or a store clerk. Because our personal identity is so closely associated with the work that we do, when we lose our job, we often lose a part of ourselves as well. We feel lost. Christa’s metaphor of being lost in a dark forest perfectly illustrates this experience.
Christa had many successful years as an educational leader. She made it all the way to the top of her career – a school district superintendent. Then her school board changed and so did her life.
Christa’s experience mirrors those of all too many of her colleagues. With increasing frequency top educational leaders are losing their positions for political or ideological reasons. When this happens it not only creates turmoil in schools and districts, but wreaks havoc with the lives and careers of competent leaders who are badly needed in our schools today.
Read Christa’s insightful book and feel understood! Learn from her insights and see how to make it through.
Dr. Stephen L. Sokolow, Executive Director of the Center for Empowered Leadership

I have had many years of experience assisting people with their careers and while job loss can be a blessing in disguise, the road to realizing this blessing can be paved with uncertainty, frustration, loss and more.
Christa Metzger knows first–hand about the hardships and the shame people can go through when losing a job which often feels like a loss of career identity. The search for a new path can be like walking through a dark forest.
Anyone who is unemployed, or knows someone who is, needs to read Christa’s story – told from journals she kept during her job loss. She depicts the stark realities of this experience with humor and insights gained from looking back years later and seeing how this dark journey led her to light.
Her wisdom will guide you and give you courage to find clearings in the dark woods of your own loss.
This would be a great gift book from a caring friend!
Serena Santillanes
MS, National Certified Counselor (NCC), Master Career Counselor (MCC), President and Founder of Career Journeys, Inc.

Dr. Christa Metzger is one of the bravest, most scrupulously honest people I know. Just as important, for the purposes of her valuable book, Unemployed—A Journey Through the Dark Woods, she is unsparingly frank about herself and her painful journey of self-discovery. It’s a testament to her generosity of spirit that she has distilled her own challenging experiences into a supportive, renewing guide for the countless others who face this same debilitating life situation.
I first met Christa when I was editor-in-chief of Phi Delta Kappan magazine. At the time, she was an assistant superintendent, clearly headed toward a superintendency. Impressed by her writing ability and, even more, by her keen and humane intelligence, I invited her to join the Kappan’s Board of Editorial Consultants. Christa never disappoints, always impresses—and never more so than in what proved to be the greatest challenge of her life.
“What happens,” she asks, “after you’ve lost your job, especially in your inner world?” What happens, if you’re a courageous spirit like Christa Metzger, is that you suffer, and then you learn and grow—and continue to grow, because growth and renewal are life itself.
Many years ago, when what befell Christa happened to me, I wish I’d had her book on my bedside table. My own painful transition into a new life would have been far, far easier.
Robert W. Cole
Proprietor, Edu-Data
Former President, Educational Press Association of America

Also by Christa Metzger:

Involuntary turnover of superintendents (1997, January). Thrust for Educational Leadership, 26 (4), 20-22, 44)

Balancing leadership and personal growth: The school administrator’s guide (2006). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Personal growth in the workplace: Spiritual practices you can use (2008). In The Soul of Educational Leadership (Chapter 4). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

In addition, Christa has published many articles on topics related to leadership, personal growth, evaluation of teachers and administrators, parental involvement in schools, school reform, superintendent/school board relation, and comparison of German and American schools.

Dedication
To the millions of Americans who are unemployed:

May this book be a blessing on your journey as you search for work that is commensurate with your interests, preparation, qualifications, and financial needs!

To all those who surround the unemployed - their friends, associates, and families:

May this book help you to walk with them as allies and be there for them with the understanding, support, patience, and love they need during this difficult time!

Foreword
by Wilkie Au, Ph.D.

If you are reading this, you probably are, or have been, unemployed - or you know someone who is. This valuable and timely book flows from the author’s personal experience of being unemployed for 18 months in the 1990’s.
Today’s economic situation is even worse than it was back then. Nearly 1 in 10 Americans (about 14 Million) are currently out of work, and many cannot find suitable employment for months or even years. The New York Times (Business Section, July 10, 2011) calls it the gravest jobs crisis since the Great Depression.
Although the external circumstances of unemployment vary from one economic crisis and one individual to another, the common element in all job loss experiences is what happens to a person in his or her inner world during this process – the spiritual and psychological aspects of the journey.
As Dr. Christa openly shares, her time of unemployment was an emotionally devastating experience. It took her over twelve years to “recover” from her job loss and to reach a place where she could finally write about it. Pulling out the boxes of journals that recorded her painful experience, she reflected on what she did, how she coped, and what she might have done differently to avoid the suffering she experienced. The rich fruit of her sensitive and thoughtful reflections is the treasure contained in this book.
This book is not a manual for how to get a job, though there are many suggestions you may find helpful. What this book does is to help you understand what goes on inside you in a time of loss and crisis, and to help you find your way out of these dark woods to discover new purpose and meaning in your life.
An added benefit of this book is that the lessons about job loss have relevance and will apply to any kind of loss you might experience, such as the death of a loved one, the break-up of a relationship, or the loss of your health.
You will walk with Dr. Christa through these dark inner woods and find your own path through them. You will discover “clearings in the forest” (insights) to shed light on your next steps. And you will make it through to a new beginning – re-created and transformed.

Dr. Wilkie Au, is a professor of Theological Studies at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles and an award-winning author of five books that integrate the wisdom of Christian spirituality and modern psychology.

About the Author

Christa Metzger is retired and living with her architect husband in the woods on the Inner Banks in Eastern North Carolina. They moved there from Los Angeles, C