Bye-Bye Boardroom: Confessions from a New Breed of Stay-at-home Moms (Capital Ideas for Business & Personal Development) [Paperback]

Rachel Hamman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2006 | Series: Capital Ideas for Business & Personal Development

"Bye-Bye Boardroom" looks into the minds and hearts of modern women who have made the decision to become stay-at-home moms. With comic relief Type-A former professional whiz kid Rachel Hamman shares the intimate secrets of her first days as a carpool-driving mom, then opens her book to the real-life adventures of other young mothers who confess their deepest thoughts about the choices they have made to leave their corporate life for a truer mission. As it redefines "Women's Lib" with a laugh for a new generation, "Bye-"Bye Boardroom" gives stay-at-home moms a true voice, a sense of community, and a chance to participate in the humorous "group therapy" the contributors offer in the frustrations, utter chaos, and yes, joy they encounter as mothers with their children. In the end, the book validates their decisions. Be it at the helm of a company, behind the instruments of an airplane, chairing a black-tie ball, or nurturing their children, the book proves that this generation of women has the freedom to choose their own path on any given day. They are held back only by their own internal dialogue and self-imposed boundaries. Through "Bye-Bye Boardroom," women can laugh and cry together and move on to find balance in their lives.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"There's so much finger-pointing going on and that has to do with the guilt and the self-justification of the choices they make', says Rachel Hamman, author of the 2006 book Bye-Bye Boardroom, about the choice to stay home. 'Working moms are trying to stand their ground, as are stay-at-home moms. Sacrifices are made at both ends', she says. "Working in the home or outside the home, there are things you give up. " --USA Today, July 12, 2007

'It's a huge shift', admits Rachel Hamman, author of Bye-Bye Boardroom. A former executive at Merrill Lynch and Golden Rule Foundation, Hamman retired two years ago to stay home with her children, now 15 and 8. "Staying home means having to reinvent who we are. And that's scary...I've learned more about myself in the two years I have been home with my children than in the two decades I spent working." --American Baby

"...chronicles the personal stories of twenty-eight professional women who chose motherhood...Hamman closes with a Top Ten List of lessons learning including the comforting #1, "I Am Not Alone," and #6, "There Is an I in Family." --Foreword Magazine

About the Author

Before Rachel Hamman decided to stay at home with her two children, she was a high-powered professional woman, working as a a field marketing manager for E&J Gallo Winery, and an assistant vice president with Merrill Lynch in the Private Client Group. She was founder and executive director of The Golden Rule Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to inspiring elementary school children to learn how to give to others through hands-on community service projects. She has been named one of the "Most Remarkable Women" by Barbara Walter's ABC show, "The View;" was featured in "Glamour" magazine for her philanthropic advances; and was honored as one of the "Eckerd 100 Outstanding National Volunteers." She considers her current position, however, as mother, humorist, and writer to be her most challenging. Her dreams for the future are to keep others around her laughing and to have her children grow into motivated, competent adults who require as little therapy as possible. She is happily married and lives in Maitland, Florida with her husband and two children. For more information about Rachel, go to www.rachelhamman.com.

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Capital Books (VA) (May 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1933102179
• ISBN-13: 978-1933102177
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,367,275 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Only for wealthy stay at home moms, August 15, 2006

By 

Lolagranola "lolagranola91" (Rural Wisconsin) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Bye-Bye Boardroom: Confessions from a New Breed of Stay-at-home Moms (Capital Ideas for Business & Personal Development) (Paperback)

It's nice that she could continue to drive a BMW and get massages while staying home all day while her children were in school - this book has little to do with the reality of most stay at home moms. The book is well written - just definately not what I expected.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Author is not a true stay-at-home Mom!, April 9, 2009

By 

Anonymous (Fort Lauderdale, FL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bye-Bye Boardroom: Confessions from a New Breed of Stay-at-home Moms (Capital Ideas for Business & Personal Development) (Paperback)

This book is completely unrealistic, and the title is misleading. Most people define a stay-at-home Mom as someone who leaves the paid workforce upon having children to stay at home and raise them during their first few formative years. By this definition, the author is not a true stay-at-home Mom because she did not quit working until her children were both conveniently out of diapers and in grade school full-time -- ages 5 and 13. In fact, her daughter was actually old enough to help care for her son. Also, she did not seem to experience any effects of loss of income that most SAHMs do, so by quitting the working world, she was able to go on a permanent vacation, complete with girls' weekends away, massages, spa visits, weekends away with her husband, and one luxury car after another. In fact, she never even mentions who took care of her children during the first 5-13 years of their lives while she was still working. I was appalled that, upon leaving her job, she made her husband -- now the sole breadwinner -- pick up the children at school!

In addition to being misleading and unrealistic, it is poorly written, with cliche and sometimes crude humor. She's not a SAHM, and she's not a writer, either.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Good...if you're looking to relate to other materialistic mothers., September 22, 2006

By 

R.A.M. - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bye-Bye Boardroom: Confessions from a New Breed of Stay-at-home Moms (Capital Ideas for Business & Personal Development) (Paperback)

I read this book on Dr. Laura's recommendation and I was incredibly disappointed. The author considers herself a stay-at-home-mom (SAHM). That is, she decided to become one when her oldest was 13, and her youngest 5. Hmmm, so that means they're both in school and done with potty-training--convenient. She's got her custom-built home on a lake in Florida and has money for flying lessons and jet-setting across the country anytime her heart desires. Wow, what sacrifice. There were a few sweet stories by other women in the book, but for the most part, women wrote about the travesty of having to give-up designer shoes and couture clothes and risk having their minds go to mush by becoming a SAHM. I don't get it--why does becoming a SAHM mean one is relegated to becoming politically and intellectually obtuse? Like another reviewer noted, such is not the reality for the majority of most SAHMs. I definitely do not recommend this book.