Early Praise for

Dale Hanson Bourke’s Second Calling

“Like all women, I have experienced the freefall of transition about ‘what’s next’—but also the fulfillment that Dale affirms throughout this book. In many ways, my second calling is the most meaningful thing I have ever done. I can change the world in a different way now. So can every woman.”

GENERAL CLAUDIA KENNEDY

Retired Deputy Chief of Staff for Army Intelligence and the first woman to achieve the rank of three-star general in the U.S. Army

“I loved this book. It takes everything our culture tells us about a woman’s worth and turns it on its head—right side up. When we are being told that our best days are over, Dale reminds us that in God’s kingdom the best is yet to be. If you are tired of running through your life, here is an invitation to be still and hear God’s second calling. It will change your life and, by God’s grace, change our world.”

SHEILA WALSH

Women of Faith speaker and author of I’m Not Wonder Woman but God Made Me Wonderful

“This is the book I have prayed for ten years God would lead someone to write—an articulate, authentic Halftime book for women. Women are different—thank God! Different priorities. Different tensions. Living in a different time. Dale Hanson Bourke gets it just right in Second Calling.”

BOB BUFORD

Author of Halftime and Finishing Well and founder of Leadership Network

“A serious but witty book full of hope for any woman with any doubt that God has a purpose and plan for the back half of her life.”

PEGGY WEHMEYER

Host of “World Vision Report”

“Second Calling is a wonderful book for women such as me who are navigating a life landscape filled with physical, emotional, familial, and spiritual change. For those of us in a season of shifting priorities and purposes, Dale Hanson Bourke affirms our desire for continued service and significance—and shares how we can discover anew that with God, the best truly is yet to come!”

JANE JOHNSON STRUCK

Editor of Today’s Christian Woman magazine

“This book made me uncomfortable. That’s saying a lot. Usually I can tell where an author is headed and get there before they do, thus insulating myself from the surprise that results in having to consider change. But Dale wound me in with her honest, human confessions so much that by the time she rounded certain corners in her self examination and spiritual processing, I went with her. “Rats. Now I have to be different. Note that verb: not do something different. That would be somehow easier. Now I have to be different in the second half of my life . . . Thanks, Dale.”

ELISA MORGAN

President and CEO of MOPS International

“My heart resonates with Dale Bourke’s heart as she shares midlife hunger for more of God. Whatever your season of life, you will be blessed and spurred on to seek Him with more of your heart.”

DENALYN LUCADO

Pastor’s wife, mother of three, and author

“Like a good friend, Dale peels back her personal-life layers to reveal a timely message of clarity. I loved how she wove Naomi’s story into relevant insights for me. [Second Calling is] an encouraging must-read for all of us who want to see what God has in store for the rest of our lives! Relevant. Real. Honest.”

JOANI SCHULTZ

Chief Creative Officer of Group Publishing

“I wholeheartedly recommend Second Calling. I love Dale’s insight that midlife offers women a ‘holy break’ and the opportunity to forge a new identity that is grounded in prayer and is world-changing in scope. On every page of this wise and well-crafted book I found both affirmation and challenge. I sincerely hope that millions of midlife women will read Second Calling, become convinced that the best is yet to come, and make themselves fully available to a new work of God in and through them. As Dale says, together we can bring the Kingdom of God to earth in every imaginable way.”

LYNNE HYBELS

Willow Creek Community Church

Author of Nice Girls Don’t Change the World

“In a culture that endlessly reminds women my age that we are ‘past our prime,’ Dale shows us that God’s plans for us are just beginning. In giving us a new perspective of the life of Naomi, she also gives us courage to let go of those things that once defined us, and to embrace God’s second calling on our lives.”

RENEE STEARNS

Former attorney, wife, mother of five, and speaker on women’s issues and the poor

“Second Calling will serve as a wonderful resource to the thousands of individuals seeking to answer God’s call on their lives. At Bridgestar, we work every day with men and women, secular and faith-based, who are asking ‘what’s next?’ in looking for senior management jobs in the nonprofit sector—many after successful careers in business, government, or returning to work after raising a family. If you want to embrace the second half of your life with passion, power and purpose, Second Calling will help you take a big first step. Enjoy!”

DAVID SIMMS

Managing Partner of Bridgestar, an initiative of The Bridgespan Group

“Dale’s honest self-reflection encouraged me to do the same. I appreciated her invitation to pause and consider mid-course

adjustments for the second half of life. The challenge to realign priorities around relationships and activities that will have lasting impact was communicated as one spiritual wrestler to another. I found Dale’s insights from the book of Ruth and stories from the lives of contemporary friends to be compelling examples of commitment to eternal significance.”

LAURA CROSBY

Speaker and creator of “Cross-training,” a ministry of spiritual mentoring at Christ Presbyterian Church, Edina, MN

“YES! As a woman definitely in the ‘second half of life,’ I found myself identifying deeply with Dale’s excitement about the

possibilities. Not ‘doing’ more, but going deeper, having more to give. The subtitle says it all: passion and purpose for the rest of my life. It doesn’t get better than that! Sisters, we need to help one another discover our ‘second calling.’ ”

NETA JACKSON

Author of The Yada Yada Prayer Group fiction series

“If you are at a crossroad in life or looking to launch a comeback or wondering what to do with the rest of your life, Second Calling is the perfect commentary to help direct you toward (re)discovering your purpose and passion. A great read that will assist you in fulfilling your God-given destiny!" 

JACKIE

Reviewer, www.goodgirlbookclubonline.com