 | Summaries and Customer Reviews are supplied by Amazon.com | Linda Kaplan Thaler and Robin Koval Review Happy at Work, Happy at Home
Linda Kaplan Thaler and Robin Koval are CEO and president, respectively, of advertising agency The Kaplan Thaler Group. Together, Kaplan Thaler and Koval have also authored three bestselling books: Bang!: Getting Your Message Heard in a Noisy World, The Power of Nice: How to Conquer the Business World With Kindness, and The Power of Small: Why Little Things Make All the Difference. Read their review of Happy at Work, Happy at Home:
  Pregnancy. Maternity leave. The "next step." As mothers, authors, and executives ourselves, we know that while this time is incredibly exciting and special, it can be equally just as confusing and overwhelming. We’ve experienced first-hand the challenges of trying to balance a family and a career, and so we appreciated Friedman and Yorio’s forthright, head-on approach to tackling the expected--and often unexpected--issues working mothers encounter. Perhaps most importantly, Happy at Work, Happy at Home arms readers with the facts, perspectives, and tools necessary to make their own smart decisions. The authors show that success (by any definition) lies in each woman taking charge of her situation and managing it by creating their own action plan. We particularly liked how they articulated applying your work skill set to this period in your life. Friedman and Yorio also do a strong job of sharing the stories of a wide range of women from various corporate backgrounds. Combined, these mothers’ (and even some fathers’) viewpoints and decisions illustrate that there is no one "right way" to do things. The only "musts" are to educate and be honest with yourself (no, you really can’t do it all well, all of the time), as well as be flexible. These stories also generate a great sense of solidarity--this may be a unique time in your life, but you’re not in it alone. As the authors point out, "If there was ever a time for mothers (working and stay-at-home) to band together, it’s now." So whether you’re a chief executive officer, or a "Mom in Chief," everyone deserves the same amount of respect and support. Happy at Work, Happy at Home is an empowering guide--one that will help readers find their own path to growing a career and family. --Linda Kaplan Thaler and Robin Koval (Kaplan Thaler photo © Gideon Lewin)
(Koval photo © Chris Cassidy) |
Average Customer Rating:   OK for the moms who actually LOVE their jobs and WANT to go back to it. If you are pregnant and you want to know the best way to tell your boss, how to plan your maternity leave, and how to plan your return to work, this would be a great book for you. When you get back to work, this book will also help you justify your choice to work.
If you're like me, and work because it pays the bills, and not because you LOVE your job, then this book isn't for you. The authors only speak to women who want to go back to work after having a child.
If you're looking for a book to help you deal with the daily emotional tight rope you'll walk after having children (especially when you have 2+ children), this book will either
1) make you feel better because you realize there are other moms out there who would also rather spend time at work than at home (see Trap #2 in the "Traps we Fall Into" chapter - "Many days we'd rather be at work than at home, changing diapers, running after toddlers, or arguing with our partners about who's going to get up in the middle of the night.") HA! Certainly not me! I feel blessed to have healthy children and I can change their diapers and run after them.
2) make you feel worse because you would actually like to spend more time with your kids and less time at work.
If I learned one thing from this book, it's that I need a new job because I'm obviously supposed to be EXCITED to go to work every day.
Happy at Work, Happy at Home: The Girl's Guide to Being a Working Mom I bought this book for my working mom daughter. She has found it to be very helpful. My daughter has a dual job between being a mother and performing her outside work and publications like this are very useful. Empowering ! Don't we need it !!!!!! This is just a great book... I am going back to work after a very long maternity leave and I really needed something to make me believe I can do it.
Being a reader from Quebec where I had a paid maternity leave of one year plus 6 months unpaid... for each of my child, my reality is different from the one in U.S.A . So, reading this book, I felt so lucky to live in Quebec, Canada and not in the book. But, it made me understand that I had the opportunity to give a lot to my two girls. Now, it's my chance to catch up with a great job but that chance has a cost and I found that book just the right thing to give me tips and inspiration... to empower me... Buy it !!! Any help is a BIG help... First of all, this book isn't just for working moms - it's for women who are pregnant and planning on continuing to work after having the baby, it's for stay-at-home moms considering going back to work (now or in the future), it's for anyone who is inspired by the stories of amazing women (and there are many in this book) and of course it is for women who are battling the challenges, enjoying the successes and usually suffering the guilt of being a working mom. Any piece of advice or inspiration is a huge help to the many women out there trying to do it all (here's their first tip - stop that) and running out of time, energy, ideas and/or inspiration every day.
Working mothers have no time to waste and this book won't waste your time. Skip the chapters that don't apply or just read the stories of other women and how they get through their day for a few tips on how to get through your day a little more easily. Read it from beginning to end or find what applies to you and what helps you - now or some time down the road. Happy to read Finally - a realistic take on the challenges and rewards of being a working mom. The practical tips are concrete, and the results seem attainable. I also related to many of the personal stories presented and they helped crystalize a lot of the emotions I was feeling, but couldn't quite put my finger on... This is a must-read for any working mom - if you are thinking of having children or already straddle the chasm between both worlds. |  |
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