The Dear John letter is a term used to describe breaking up with someone via letter--or these days email or maybe even social media--yikes! It's been a while since I've heard someone mention, a "Dear John" letter but the fact that I know what it means is a bit telling in itself.

What is even more telling is I recall writing such a letter over 25 years ago to a guy I was dating before my now husband and I became an item. The breakup wasn't amicable and certainly unexpected I'm sure from my ex's point of view. I'm sure he thought everything was going well and then...BOOM...it was over. Now all that said, I wasn't an adult by any means so I doubt it ended his world or anything like that. But, for me, it was something I needed to do. Although my ex was nice I knew there was no future for us. Even more so, I also really wanted to be with my now-husband. So I'm confident I made the right choice.

In my new novel, Beautiful Nightmare, the main character is faced with a few "dear john" moments where she needs to decide what is best for her life. However, to do so, she has to make some unexpected choices and decisions.

While I'm sure this isn't unique to only women, being Women's Month, I thought it would be good to discuss the challenges we face as women when we write "dear john" letters in our lives that take us on unchartered paths. Often these paths may cause disappointment or disapproval from those close to us, but a path we must take nonetheless.

How would you encourage a woman who needs to implement a "dear john" strategy into her own life? What would you say?