People
Coming April 15, 2025
The Next Day
by Melinda French Gates
The Next Day: Transitions, Change, and Moving Forward is a moving personal reflection from global philanthropist and bestselling author Melinda French Gates that encourages readers to stay true to themselves as they navigate transitions in their own lives.
Join an exclusive conversation with Melinda
Hear Melinda open up about some of the biggest transitions in her life, as well as her process for writing The Next Day, in an exclusive virtual conversation. Pre-order your hardcover copy of the book before March 27 to participate.
About the book
In a rare window into some of her life’s pivotal moments, Melinda French Gates draws from previously untold stories to offer a new perspective on encountering transitions.
Transitions are moments in which we step out of our familiar surroundings and into a new landscape—a space that, for many people, is shadowed by confusion, fear, and indecision. The Next Day accompanies readers as they cross that space, offering guidance on how to make the most of the time between an ending and a new beginning and how to move forward into the next day when the ground beneath you is shifting.
You don’t get to be my age without navigating all kinds of transitions. Some you embraced and some you never expected. Some you hoped for and some you fought as hard as you could.
Melinda French Gates
In this book, Melinda will reflect, for the first time in print, on some of the most significant transitions in her own life, including becoming a parent, the death of a dear friend, and her departure from the Gates Foundation. The stories she tells illuminate universal lessons about loosening the bonds of perfectionism, helping friends navigate times of crisis, embracing uncertainty, and more.
Each one of us, no matter who we are or where we are in life, is headed toward transitions of our own. With her signature warmth and grace, Melinda candidly shares stories of times when she was in need of wisdom and shines a path through the open space stretching out before us all.
Melinda French Gates
Melinda French Gates is a philanthropist, businesswoman, and global advocate for women and girls.
For over 25 years, Melinda has led efforts to unlock a healthier, more prosperous, more equal future. Today, she heads Pivotal, an organization she formed in 2015 that works to accelerate the pace of progress and advance women’s power and influence in the U.S. and around the world.
Previously, she founded and co-chaired the Gates Foundation, where, for more than two decades, she set the direction and priorities of the world’s largest philanthropy. Melinda is also the author of the bestselling book The Moment of Lift and the creator of Moment of Lift Books, an imprint publishing original nonfiction by visionaries working to unlock a more equal world.
Melinda grew up in Dallas, Texas and attended Duke University, where she received a bachelor's degree in computer science and economics and an MBA. She spent the first decade of her career developing multimedia products at Microsoft before leaving the company to focus on her family and philanthropic work. Melinda has three children—Jenn, Rory, and Phoebe—and lives in Seattle, Washington.
Book proceeds
Melinda will be donating her proceeds from The Next Day to support computer science education in honor of her parents and immunotherapy cancer research in memory of her friend John Neilson.
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Amplifying stories that need to be told
Moment of Lift Books, created by Melinda French Gates in partnership with Flatiron Books, publishes original nonfiction by visionaries working to unlock a more equal world for women and girls.
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