This is a book every mother should give her daughter -- I LOVE IT. The Feminine Mistake will inspire a new generation to celebrate the promise and the power of being a woman whose first line of defense is herself.

Women are constantly being told that it's too difficult to balance work and family,so if they don't really "have to" work, it's better for their families if they stay home.Not true, Leslie Bennetts says in fact, the arguments in favor of stay-at-home motherhood leave out the surprising advantages of work and the unexpected toll of giving it up. Combining work and family really is the best choice for most women, she says,and it's eminently doable.

Bennetts and millions of other working women provide ample proof that there are many different ways to have kids, maintain a challenging careel, and enjoy- a richly rewarding life as a result. The truth is that when women gamble on dependency, most eventually end up on the wrong side of the odds and miss out on the intellectual,emotional, psychological, and even medical benefits of self-sufficiency:

Not since Betty Friedan has anyone offered such an eye-opening and persuasive argument for why women can and should embrace the joyously complex lives they deserve.

Prologue

Author's Note xxix

CHAPTER ONE

BACK TO THE FUTURE

"IT'S A 1950S LIFE！"

CHAPTER TWO

OPTING OUT

"IT'S LIKE THE SLAUGHTER OF THE LAMBS."

CHAPTER THREE

BUT WHAT IF...

"I NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT THAT！"

CHAPTER FOUR

OPTING  BACK IN

"NO ONE TOLD ME IT WOULD BE SO HARD！"

CHAPTER FIVE

RISKY BUSINESS

"HOW AM  I  GOING TO  LIVE？"

CHAPTER SIX

THE  FIFTEEN-YEAR PARADIGM

"IT REALLY DOES GET EASIER！"

CHAPTER SEVEN

WHO  SAYS  IT DOESN'T WORK？

"IT CAN BE DONE！"

CHAPTER EIGHT

THE  JOYS  OF THE  FULL LIFE

"IT'S HARD FOR ME TO IMAGINE WHO I'D BE

IF I DIDN'T WORK."

CHAPTER NINE

IT'S THE  MONEY,  HONEY

"GOD BLESS THE WIFE WHO'S GOT HER OWN！"

CHAPTER TEN

MEN,  MARRIAGE, AND  MONEY

"IT'S A MACHO THING！"

CHAPTER ELEVEN

HOME EQUITY

"MY HUSBAND AND l ARE PEERS."

CHAPTER TWELVE

BUT WHAT ABOUT THE  CHILDREN？

"YOU  KNOW WHAT？  I THINK MY KIDS  REALLY BENEFITED！"

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

BACKWARD PROGRESS

"YOU'RE TAKING THE SAFE ROAD！"

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

THE ANXIETY OF  LIBERTY

"WHAT AM i GOING TO DO WITH MY LIFE？"

Notes

Index