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Life's Work: Confessions of an Unbalanced Mom
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 920
EAN: 9780743225434
ISBN: 0743225430
Label: Simon & Schuster
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 224
Publication Date: April 08, 2003
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Studio: Simon & Schuster
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Editorial Review:
Working moms are going to love Life's Work. A collection of columns from The New York Times, this entertaining and thoughtful compilation suggests that the next time you are overwhelmed with laptop, cell phone, deadlines, appointments, pets, and kids, you try something new: shrugging. As author Lisa Belkin says in the introduction, "I am not saying that none of these things matter. They all matter, but not all of the time."
Her columns make great reading for waiting rooms or bus commutes, as each one is just a few pages long. Divided by topic rather than chronological age, you'll start off with a look at balancing work and marriage, progress to pregnancy and babies, and end with sections on travel, organization, and a reexamination of shifting priorities. Topics are sometimes funny, such as Belkin's ramblings on her professional name (Belkin) and family name (Gelb), and the confusion this causes when her son's school called and asked for a name not in the company's list. But singing "the Barney song" from an airport pay phone and having the women around her weep--stories like this ring so familiar with working moms that it's hard to not get a little teary yourself.
From paternity leave to expectations of babysitters, commuting time to sharing a home computer with an 11-year-old, Belkin manages to address all the daily trivia that take on such importance, as well as the really important stuff that often gets lost in the shuffle. --Jill Lightner
The woman Mediaweek says "could very well be the next generation's Anna Quindlen" steps out from behind her celebrated New York Times column in a book about the intersection -- or more accurately collision -- of life and work.
A few years ago, award-winning reporter Lisa Belkin left the office to work from home, amid the chaos of two young children, writing deadlines, and everyday domestic details. She began writing a very personal column for and about people trying to "balance" their lives, but hundreds of columns later, she noticed that she had not heard from a single person who had everything under control. Then she realized: Nobody can do it because it simply can't be done.
Life's Work is the story of modern motherhood, where true happiness is often reached when you finally give up and give in. Belkin's is the funny, poignant, and always dead-on story of trying to do it all...and learning that doing just some of it is enough.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - where's the beef?
If you already know Lisa Belkin's column, this book is for you. As a compilation book of previous columns, it's a quick romp through balancing work and life and, at times, parenthood. However, after ten or so essays, you feel stuck in the 850-word column world and are left wanting more. I would have loved her to expand each "story" for the book form and add more meat to it.
Rating:  - A delicate balance
I really enjoyed Lisa Belkin's book about the difficulties and successes of balancing work and family. She divides the book into short, dynamic, well-written chapters that capture the point quickly. You don't need to be a working mom to enjoy this book, as she touches upon quite a few interesting topics, like the relationships between adult children and their aging parents and choosing love when one's career is booming.
I have one quibble though - her book overall focuses on what I would ... Read More
Rating:  - Enlightening book !
Being a new mom and managing a high stress career, Lisa Belkins' book was very eye opening for me. There are several times when I wonder how I can have the energy and motivation to keep this lifestyle going long term, and how long I will survive in the professional world while being a good mother to my child .Lisa Belkin gave me a peep into the future and opened options that I knew only vaguely about. Very well written and enjoyable as well.
Rating: - Now I can Say So What
I received a copy of this book to review for my website. And the book changed my life.
When I first picked up the book Life's Work I put it down, deeming it not appropriate for BlueSuitMom's working mother audience. How wrong I was. Initially in the introduction I was put off by this sentence "Not a one of us seems to be able to give 100 percent of themselves to their job and 100 percent of themselves to their family and 100 percent of themselves to taking care of themselves." I read the line and ... Read More
Rating: - Nobody's Perfect
Lisa Belkin's reflections on life and work are a joy to read for any veteran of the family/work balancing act. Her strong message resonates equally well for those in the corporate world to those working at home or the full-time stay at home parent -- trying to balance the demands of our lives can trap us in the unreasonable expectation we can please everybody all the time.
Life's Work is about the emotional conflict we all feel whether we have to work at a despised job for the paycheck or need to ... Read More
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