Customer Reviews

Dilemmas of a Double Life: Women Balancing Careers and Relationships (Gender in Crisis)

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This book is an eloquently written anthology which addresses the unique challenges faced by professional women through different phases of their lives -- a must read for any modern, working woman who hopes to achieve some kind of balance between her career and personal lives. Nancy Kaltreider effectively articulates the dilemmas faced by such women and in doing so, validates this struggle. Readers will indeed find here a "paper mentor" to help guide and encourage them along their journey. This is by far the best work that I have read on the subject and a well worthwhile purchase.

This is a very thought/emotional provoking book on choices that women have in making life choices (career track, mommy track, single, choosing to be childless). This book is a collection of articles by different women professionals. I enjoyed the authors' psychological perspectives on common issues and themes underlying life choices for women in choosing to balance relationships and career. The book is enlightening because it talks about the experiences of women going through their decision making process. The reading experience is intense and rewarding.

I was hoping for more. This book is written by accomplished women with lots to say. Presumably, none of them had time to say it, because this work is only a first and superficial pass at a cnallenging problem. That still would have been enjoyable, but for the incredible $58.00 price. This book might be useful for a wealthy 23 year old contemplating a career. For those of us "in the trenches", the subtitle of one chapter, there is nothing here you don't already know. I believe these authors could form the nucleus of a worthwhile, in depth sequel, perhaps including surveys and casting a wide net among us for thoughtful solutions. (I am the male half of a two physician marriage, now in its 16th year.)

I am a 26 year old woman who is grinding her way through a PhD program in biology at a California university. When I heard of this book's publication, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. I hoped that its writers would address many of the anxieties that I face: The two body career problem, when/if to have a family, how to balance career ambitions with sweetie quality time. Unfortunately, I was quite disappointed. The contributors have achieved a level of success in their careers that is not typical. Furthermore, the kinds of careers that these women have anything that I, or most women grad students, can realistically hope to achieve ourselves. Thus, I found most of their personal accounts pretty irrelevant (I simply can't relate to the issues and anxieties faced by a dean at a medical school) and somewhat irritating: By omitting the experiences of "regular career gals with PhD's" from this book, I feel that the editors implied that only the women who achieve stellar success have any right to worry about the kinds of issues that I mentioned above. I'd have preferred to hear from female grad students, postdocs, and career women with PhDs who have satifying, but not necessarily insanely high-power careers. I would have rather read the accounts of women who discovered, in their third of fourth year of grad schol, that they probably WEREN'T going to be members of the National Academy or deans of prestigious departments and how they switched gears. This book is no "paper mentor". The fact that this book cost $58 only added insult to injury.