Wendy Sachs provides a unique and interesting insight into the art of balancing family with careers in her novel, How She Really Does It: Secrets of Successful Stay-at-Work Moms.
Sachs, a journalist and mother of two, investigates the contemporary drawbacks holding mothers that have endured motherhood, from practical career planning. Sacks bases the novel around research drawn from mothers with diverse backgrounds of cultures and family structures. The research is utilized to provide winning strategies for mothers who wish to continue working after having children, with insights gaining from both everyday moms and celebrity moms who have made influential decisions regarding work-life arrangements. However, both the successes and failures of various choices are examined to provide helpful advice as to what and what not to follow.
Sachs explores why some women are opting out of their careers for child rearing, despite a financial problem. There is attention given to the opportunity cost between women who hold on to their careers as they are financially necessary, as opposed to those women who find it more stimulating and rewarding to become engaged as mothers. The mothers involved include work backgrounds covering lawyers, doctors, entrepreneurs, fashion designers, journalists, and television personalities. They are the women who are empowered as career women as well as successful caring and present mothers.
The recurrent theme is the importance of being flexible in both schedules and expectations. The key to achieve a happy work-life balance was found to be promoted by excellent child-care options, supportive spouses and the ability to let go of perfectionism in all realms. Popular interviewees include cosmetics entrepreneur Bobbi Brown, CNN anchor Soledad O’Brien and NBC News anchor Ann Curry. While these women can afford child-care choices that are unavailable to many, they provide motivating models of determination. Sachs overall argument is that the professional identity of women is an integral part of their satisfaction in life as well as being a beneficial component in their ability to become good mothers. Therefore, the novel portrays the personal priorities of women and how these goals can be successfully achieved through prioritizing, goal-setting and active communication with their family.
As USA Today states, Sachs has created, “a book that many mothers…might find to be a life-saver. Or, more accurately, a sanity-saver.” (USA Today). The novel provides a refreshing and inspiring point of view about stay-at-work moms, for current and future mothers to take advantage of both facets of life.
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