Reconfiguring Relations in the Empty Nest

This edited volume traverses the spectrum of experiences that take place after children leave the family home and parents find themselves in the "empty nest" stage of life. Rather than focusing on measuring the intensity of empty nest syndrome or asking whether parents' marital satisfaction increases or decreases in this phase, the authors present rich qualitative data from across Poland and France to show that there is great variation in how families experience the empty nest, developing both a study on intimacy and love and on family solidarity. Throughout the book, themes of mixed emotions, nuanced attitudes, contradictions, and dissonance are explored while shedding light on "supporting actors" of the empty nest transition, such as family pets and material objects.

Magdalena Zadkowska is Assistant Professor in the Division of Sociology of Everyday Life in the Faculty of Social Sciences at University of Gdansk, Poland.
Marta Skowronska is Assistant Professor at the Division of Social Practice Research and Theory in the Faculty of Sociology at Adam Mickiewicz University, Poland.
Christophe Giraud is Professor of Sociology at Université Paris Cité, France.
Filip Schmidt is Assistant Professor in the Division of Social Practice Research and Theory at the Faculty of Sociology at Adam Mickiewicz University, Poland. ctice Research and Theory at the Faculty of Sociology at Adam Mickiewicz University, Poland.

1. Introduction Part 1: Family in the Empty Nest2. Mothering from Full Nest to Empty Nest3. Fathering from Full Nest to Empty Nest4. Adult Children's Bedrooms and Emptying the Nest: The Mechanisms of Transition5. Visiting Parents: The Recomposing and Renegotiation of Family Roles and Responsibilities6. The Come-Back to 'Full Nest' in Times of Pandemic in France and Poland7. The Recomposition: Parental Roles and Animal Roles in the Empty Nest Part 2: Couple in the Empty Nest8. Redefining Couple Relationship in the Empty Nest: The Evolving Involvement9. Redefining Couple Relationship in the Empty Nest: Together, but Apart10. No Intimate Bonds in the Empty Nest: Uncoupling and Recoupling Part 3: The Self in the Empty Nest11. What Do We Do In Our Free Time? Personal Life Strategies12. Without Children at Home: The Transition to Herplaces and Hisplaces13. Changing Roles, Changing Emotions: Women's Emotions in Coping with Change14. Struggling with Limitations, Creating New Possibilities: The Identity of Men in the Empty Nest Stage 15. Conclusion