Empty-Nest Joyride: Hope, Love, and Purpose on the Road to Contentment
Empty-Nest Joyride: Hope, Love, and Purpose on the Road to Contentment
You’ve been parenting for years, and now face the sudden realization that this ride, and your role, are about to change. Like exiting a busy highway, you might look forward to a slower, gentler, and more relaxing pace. Or, perhaps the quiet path ahead fills you with uncertainty and the dread of emptiness.
You’re about to embark on an unfamiliar journey. What lies around the bend is a mystery.
Linda Hanstra has been around that bend. In Empty-Nest Joyride, she shares a heartfelt collection of personal stories inspired by bike rides through the Midwest countryside. Using cycling adventures as metaphors, she reflects on the challenges and blessings of this midlife stage with humor, warmth, and wisdom.
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What others are saying…
A heartfelt, relatable, and richly layered reflection on marriage, parenting, aging, and rediscovering purpose in the empty nest years. From the very first chapter, I was hooked—curious about her husband’s accident and captivated by the biking metaphor that winds beautifully through every page….Each chapter offers wisdom wrapped in storytelling—highlighting the beauty of long-haul love, the faith it takes to release control, and the joy that can be found in unexpected seasons. Her openness about struggles, both hers and her children’s, will bless and encourage many, especially those walking through similar seasons.
What I appreciated most was Linda’s humility and grace. She shares both victories and failures with warmth and insight, offering practical takeaways and encouraging spiritual truths. Readers will laugh, tear up, and most of all, feel seen….This memoir is a gift to any reader stepping into—or already in—the empty nest season, especially those looking for a renewed sense of purpose. Linda has done a wonderful job weaving life, faith, and biking into an inspiring ride toward contentment.
-Cheryl Balcom, Author- “Winds of Grace”
While I enjoyed this book as an empty nester, I couldn't help but think it would make a great gift for the newly engaged and newlyweds. Blooming relationships feel invincible. Yet real strength emerges from years of nurturing, play, and common purpose. Linda shows readers how to lean on that strength to enjoy this life-changing phase.
Cindy Ojczyk
I loved this book! It's a bike ride through the ups and downs of a long marriage, raising 4 very different kids and navigating the unique ways each launch into the world. Such great reflections that all empty nesters or those on the cusp can relate to.
Cathy Lawdanski
It’s like riding with a wise friend who isn’t afraid to share honestly about the mishaps and bumps encountered along the way. Though I read the book solo, the reflection questions after each chapter could make it an ideal read for a book club. It was a treat to read something hopeful for a change.
Joanne McHugh
Even though I'm not an empty nester in the traditional sense—my parenting continues in deep and meaningful ways as I walk alongside my autistic adult son—and even though I'm traveling this road as a widow, Linda's reflections still spoke to me.
Because Empty Nest Joyride isn't just about children growing up or marriages shifting—it's about holding joy and change together. About trusting God on uncertain roads. About the way life continues to invite us to rediscover purpose, even when the terrain isn't what we expected.
And that's a message for all of us.
-Linda Cobourn, Author of "Crazy: A Diary," and "Tap Dancing in Church"