Melinda French Gates Announces New Book About Change: 'Over the Last Few Years, I’ve Experienced a Lot’ (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

‘The Next Day: Transitions, Change and Moving Forward’ cover art.Photo:Jason Bell; Flat Iron Books

Melinda French Gates Portrait; The Next Day: Transitions, Change and Moving Forward by Melinda French Gates

Jason Bell; Flat Iron Books

Melinda French Gatesis opening up about her life like never before.

On Monday, Sept. 30, Flatiron Books announced exclusively with PEOPLE that French Gates, 60, is set to release a new book titledThe Next Day: Transitions, Change, and Moving Forward.According to a press release, the book serves as a “rare window into some of her life’s pivotal moments.”

According to French Gates, the “painful” and “exciting” changes she’s experienced over the last several years of her life inspired her to take on this project.

“Over the last few years, I’ve experienced a lot of change — some of it exciting, some of it painful — so I’ve done a lotof thinking and learning about transitions,” the Pivotal Ventures founder says in a statement shared exclusively with PEOPLE. “I decided to start writing this while I was still in the middle of this season of change, rather than safely on the other side.”

This isn’t French Gates' first published work — in 2019, her bookThe Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the Worldbecame a bestseller and she subsequently foundedMoment of Lift Books, which publishes nonfiction books that empower women and girls.

Melinda French Gates.Jason Bell

Melinda French Gates Portrait

Jason Bell

“We’ve all had days that change our lives forever,” the philanthropist continues. “This book is about what we do the next day, when one phase of our life has come to an end, but the next phase hasn’t quite yet begun. I’ve learned that if you can find the courage to linger in that liminal space, it has a lot to teach you.”

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For French Gates, the book also served as a chance to reflect on the “major transition points” in her life, includingbecoming a mom to three children, attending college andeven leaving her post at the Gates Foundation.

“I write a lot about the people and ideas that have been helpful to me during moments of uncertainty, and the process of revisiting all that wisdom I’ve relied on has made me appreciate it even more,” she said.

‘The Next Day: Transitions, Change and Moving Forward’.Flat Iron Books

The Next Day: Transitions, Change and Moving Forward by Melinda French Gates

Flat Iron Books

ThePivotal Venturesfounder adds that she hopesThe Next Dayinspires readers as they navigate their own transitional periods in life, and take solace in her own, similar experiences.

“You don’t get to be my age without navigating all kinds of transitions," French Gates continues. “Some you embraced and some you never expected. Some you hoped for and some you fought as hard as you could.”

The Next Day: Transitions, Change, and Moving Forwardis set to be released on April 15, 2025 through Flatiron Books, an imprint of Macmillan Publishers.

source: people.com