导语

  

    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.

内容提要

  

    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