It's Not the Glass Ceiling, It's the Sticky Floor: And Other Things Our Daughters Should Know About Marriage, Work, and Motherhood [Hardcover]

Karen Engberg (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1999

Originally written as a guide to her daughters, "It's Not the Glass Ceiling, It's the Sticky Floor" is Karen Engberg's answer to the great questions created by liberation. This is an urgent call for women to negotiate equality in the home and for men to understand that motherhood and 'housework' are just as important as bread-winning. 'The ability to spot-treat stains, remember who doesn't like brownies with nuts, memorise the baby-sitter's number, and remember that toilet paper is needed even when it's not on the grocery list, involves talents residing in the twilight zone of human accomplishments. These skills do nothing for a resume but are essential to civilised survival. Then your husband comes home from work and wonders what you've been doing all day'. Welcome to the motherly vocation of what Engberg labels the 'Small Stuff Technician'. In pithy and hard-hitting chapters, using hilarious and hair-raising personal experiences, Engberg challenges the studies and assertions of 'experts' who fail to address family issues in realistic, or realisable, terms. She offers fresh points of view and advice for women on youthful decision-making, motherhood, what to expect from husbands and fathers, domestic duties, parenting, handling teenagers, finance, and much more.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The title might be snappy but the message of this book is right on. The author, a physician and mother of four children, is talking to adolescent daughters everywhere, giving them the inside scoop on marriage, work and motherhood. . . . [This] handbook is sure to make you laugh, but clearly it's intended to make you think." -- Chicago Tribune, December 1, 1999

Product Details

• Hardcover: 203 pages
• Publisher: Prometheus Books (December 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1573927457
• ISBN-13: 978-1573927451
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,628,604 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A professional mom imparts wisdom to our daughters., November 5, 1999

By 

Hennie Shore (Wynnewood, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: It's Not the Glass Ceiling, It's the Sticky Floor: And Other Things Our Daughters Should Know About Marriage, Work, and Motherhood (Hardcover)

Finally! A female author with experience debunks some of the happily-ever-after and Supermom myths that pull women with families and jobs in over their heads. Karen Engberg is a doctor with four kids who describes with great intelligence the "territory between the rock and the hard place" that so many of us find ourselves inhabiting after a few years of marriage, a couple of kids and the job of our younger dreams. Beyond simply describing that territory, however, she offers delightful pearls of wisdom rather than finger-shaking advice.

One of the great things about this book is that it can be cracked open to whichever chapter interests you on a given day. There's a parallel here: women's lives, as Engberg points out, are almost never linear; neither is this book. In some ways, reading it was like talking with a friend during a morning walk: it's informal, personal and reminiscent while at the same time being informative and accurate.

I keep "It's Not the Glass Ceiling, It's the Sticky Floor," on my bedside table to peruse at length when I can't sleep or to take in small doses when I'm too exhausted to keep my eyes open for more than a few minutes. In either case, unlike so much of what's written in this genre, I always feel better for the insight it provides.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A sobering look at reality, April 5, 2004

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: It's Not the Glass Ceiling, It's the Sticky Floor: And Other Things Our Daughters Should Know About Marriage, Work, and Motherhood (Hardcover)

I plan to pass this book along to my professional friends contemplating motherhood. After I had my first child and continued in a demanding, full time job, I wondered why no one warned me how stressful it would be to be a working mom and why no one told me about the trememdous guilt I would feel about placing my baby in long hours of daycare. Since most of my friends and colleagues did this, I assumed it would be difficult but bearable. Karen Engberg provides the facts in an honest and helpful way, without being too negative. She gives practical advice on how to scale down one's expectations with examples from her own experiences. Unlike other books on this subject, she is not passionately preaching for full time motherhood nor full time work; rather, she is trying to find a middle ground where women can feel happy, fulfilled and less pressured.

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Personal, hard-hitting, insightful., March 5, 2000

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: It's Not the Glass Ceiling, It's the Sticky Floor: And Other Things Our Daughters Should Know About Marriage, Work, and Motherhood (Hardcover)

This survey of marriage, work and motherhood examines modern issues in work and home life when both members of a couple work, considering the issues which face women who seek importance both at home and in careers. Chapters blend personal experiences and humor with hard-hitting insights on how women can rear children in a work-oriented world.