For decades feminists have belabored the idea that work should be at the center of women's lives, and that motherhood wouldn't get in the way of this goal if society would simply cooperate. If husbands performed half the housework and childcare, if the government would invest in universal daycare and family leave, and if employers allowed parents to leave the office at 5:00 p.m., women could achieve the balance they so desperately seek. But the real reasons work-family balance remains elusive are much more complex. In this book, bestselling author and Fox News contributor Suzanne Venker claims the two-income family is a trap. It encourages Americans to think about family solely in terms of economics, when in fact breadwinning is only part of the equation. The burnout that results from not having someone home to do everything mothers have historically done is huge. Not only do children lose out, marriages become stressed to the breaking point. When that happens, many women view this as a marital problem when in fact the issue is time. Women can have most of what they want over the course of their lives, but not if they follow the cultural script feminists have laid out for them. Women need to adjust their expectations and accept that when we choose to have children, we choose a life of trade-offs. We also need to broaden our view of what it means to be successful. At the end of the day, it's our personal success, not our professional success, that determines how happy we are.
