August 24, 2015
As this heartfelt book relates, when the author (The Idea That Is America) left her Princeton University professorship in 2009 to work on policy for then–Secretary of State Clinton, her sons were 10 and 12. Slaughter could only get home on weekends, and before long she found her children were suffering from her absences. Her conflicted feelings resulted in her much-read Atlantic piece, “Why Women Still Can’t Have It All,” which she expands here. “Lean in too far without a counterweight... and you will tip over,” Slaughter warns. As she explains, her tipping point led her not only to leave D.C. but also to more widely examine the challenges of caregiving in the U.S. Slaughter also takes a fresh and informative look at recent advances made by feminists, finding that though much has changed since the women’s movement came to prominence, the movement is still “only halfway home.” She provides concrete steps for the remaining journey, concluding that until society learns to value care (of children and the elderly) as much as competition, there will never be true gender equality, in the workplace or elsewhere. If heeded by Americans, her thoughtful analysis could cause a sea change in how they value their jobs and one another. Agent: Will Lippincott, Lippincott Massie McQuilkin.