Book Reviews
The Mom Economy
The Mothers' Guide to Getting Family-Friendly Work

Foreword
by Elizabeth Berger M.D.
Author of Raising Children with Character

As a child psychiatrist, I see many families struggling with the stresses of "working Moms" - women pulled in too many directions by the competing demands of the workplace and their wish to be authentically present for their children. But fortunately, help is at hand for a large number of women needing to establish a better balance between their families and their jobs. The key is family-friendly work, and Elizabeth Wilcox has written an immensely helpful, practical guide to finding it.

"The Mom Economy" is really two books in one. In a lively, accessible style, Wilcox communicates a treasure trove of sophisticated insights into crucial specifics of job finding such as benefit packages, negotiating strategies, and networking approaches. Clearly, this is a savvy mentor who understands how businesses succeed and how people succeed in business. The breadth of these discussions and the cagey realism that Wilcox brings to them are alone worth the price on the book cover.

What makes "The Mom Economy" unique is that apart from conveying valuable information, it also functions as a workbook, moving the reader (pencil in hand) through stages of defining and refining her own system of values, skills, priorities, and goals. Wilcox never loses sight of the core dedication in every mother's heart - to give her children the very best start in life, in every way that she can. All concrete decisions of lifestyle and workplace are in this sense not ends in themselves, but means to an end -enhancing the quality of the relationship between mother and child. At the same time, however, the author makes it clear that HOW this end is achieved will be a unique and hard-won solution, different for every family and every mother.

"The Mom Economy" leads the reader through four domains, formulating an inventory of needs, strengths, options, and specific plans. This path brings refreshing clarity and focus to a woman's search - what might otherwise remain a confusing muddle of personal dissatisfactions or impossible aspirations. Through the process, Wilcox encourages the reader towards realistic assessments and decision making through mastery of relevant facts and through acceptance of the bedrock truth that lacking a magic wand, some compromises are likely to be necessary in the workplace as in any adult enterprise.

This is a book well planted in reality - the realities of any mother's commitment to do right by her children as well as the realities of divorce, unexpected disability, and the vagaries of economic upswings and downturns. The author's sources include interviews with varied experts, surveys of hundreds of women conducted by the author, and considerable life experiences as a journalist, wife, and mother. Refreshingly absent are polemical ideological manifestos claiming that a woman must utterly devote herself to her home or utterly devote herself to crashing through the glass ceiling into top management. Instead, there is cheerful encouragement, recognition of the enormous diversity of situations presented by real women's lives, and insistence on flexibility and honesty. This book inspires the best in the working mother, but not by floating airy platitudes promising that somehow anyone should be able to do everything. This is a book charting a path to fulfillment amidst real-life uncertainties, using your wits to "deliver the goods" at the workplace, for yourself, and for those you love.

Buy It Now

"This is an essential guide for all working mothers."  Lillian Vernon, Chairman/CEO, Lillian Vernon Corporation