It's Not the Glass Ceiling, It's the Sticky Floor: And Other Things Our Daughters Should Know About Marriage, Work, and Motherhood

Rating:
Summary: A professional mom imparts wisdom to our daughters.
Review: Finally! A female author with experience debunks some of the happily-ever-after and Supermom myths that pull women with families and jobs in over their heads. Karen Engberg is a doctor with four kids who describes with great intelligence the "territory between the rock and the hard place" that so many of us find ourselves inhabiting after a few years of marriage, a couple of kids and the job of our younger dreams. Beyond simply describing that territory, however, she offers delightful pearls of wisdom rather than finger-shaking advice.

One of the great things about this book is that it can be cracked open to whichever chapter interests you on a given day. There's a parallel here: women's lives, as Engberg points out, are almost never linear; neither is this book. In some ways, reading it was like talking with a friend during a morning walk: it's informal, personal and reminiscent while at the same time being informative and accurate.

I keep "It's Not the Glass Ceiling, It's the Sticky Floor," on my bedside table to peruse at length when I can't sleep or to take in small doses when I'm too exhausted to keep my eyes open for more than a few minutes. In either case, unlike so much of what's written in this genre, I always feel better for the insight it provides.

Rating:
Summary: A sobering look at reality
Review: I plan to pass this book along to my professional friends contemplating motherhood. After I had my first child and continued in a demanding, full time job, I wondered why no one warned me how stressful it would be to be a working mom and why no one told me about the trememdous guilt I would feel about placing my baby in long hours of daycare. Since most of my friends and colleagues did this, I assumed it would be difficult but bearable. Karen Engberg provides the facts in an honest and helpful way, without being too negative. She gives practical advice on how to scale down one's expectations with examples from her own experiences. Unlike other books on this subject, she is not passionately preaching for full time motherhood nor full time work; rather, she is trying to find a middle ground where women can feel happy, fulfilled and less pressured.

Rating:
Summary: Personal, hard-hitting, insightful.
Review: This survey of marriage, work and motherhood examines modern issues in work and home life when both members of a couple work, considering the issues which face women who seek importance both at home and in careers. Chapters blend personal experiences and humor with hard-hitting insights on how women can rear children in a work-oriented world.