The Crisis of the Working Mother: Resolving the Conflict Between Family and Work

Drawing on her own experience and that of hundreds of women she interviewed, as well as on many books and articles, Berg presents a cogent, in-depth examination of the inevitable family-work conflict experienced by working mothers. At the heart of the problem, Berg asserts, is today's working mother's often overwhelming sense of guilt, caused primarily by the decision she has made to follow a path divergent from that taken by her own mother in the 1950s or '60s: ""to choose a different lifestyle, to challenge her values, attitudes, child-rearing practices.'' Having established this premise, the author goes on to explain how guilt has affected working mothers in four areas: in connection with their children, their job performance, their husbands and their self-images. Throughout, Berg imparts much sound advice on coping with the resultant emotional and physical pressures. First serial to Ladies' Home Journal. (April 30)