Real Mothers. Real Careers. Real Conflict. Striking the right balance between career and motherhood is one of the most stressful, heart-wrenching tasks facing women today. In Torn, forty-six women exa
Real Mothers. Real Careers. Real Conflict. Striking the right balance between career and motherhood is one of the most stressful, heart-wrenching tasks facing women today. In Torn, forty-six women examine the conflict between the need to nurture and the need to work, and reveal creative solutions for having the best of both worlds. The stories in the collection offer hope and inspiration, but they also reveal the messy realities of modern motherhood and life's inevitable crises, both small and large: from breast pump mishaps to battles with cancer; diaper blowouts to debilitating depression; competitive cupcake baking to coming home from war. In the end, the reader can take comfort in the knowledge that there is no perfect mother; nor is there a perfect balance when it comes to kids and career. The real challenge facing women today is not juggling their many roles, but realigning their expectations of what is possible and accepting that success does not equal "doing it all." Torn was selected as a Mom's Choice Awards Gold Medal Winner for 2011.
Samantha Parent Walravens is an award-winning journalist, writer and mother of four children. She was an editor at PC Worldmagazine, where she reported on technology and business, and worked in product marketing at a Silicon Valley software company before taking time off to raise a family. She has since returned to her true passion, writing, and has authored articles on topics including politics, business, lifestyle and women's issues. TORN: True Stories of Kids, Career & the Conflict of Modern Motherhoodwas chosen by the New York Times as the first selection for its Motherlode Book Club. Samantha is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Princeton University and has a Masters in Literature and Women's Studies from the University of Virginia. She lives in Tiburon, California with her husband and children.
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