Maxed Out: American Moms On The Brink (2013) - Plot & Excerpts
Katrina Alcorn has written a realistic, gripping, page-turning tale of what it's like to navigate the minefield that is life as a working mom. Reading it felt like having a heart to heart with my most sympathetic friend. She found a way to express the things that are so confoundingly difficult to communicate to the people in life who are supposed to be our support network: spouse, managers, parents, siblings, friends. Every word of this book is true and instantly recognizable to any mother trying to negotiate the demands of a corporate job, public school, and the demands of family. The only thing I had a tough time believing was how loving and supportive her husband Brian was throughout her struggles with career and health decisions and family chores. Despite having to endure the horrors she described, she is very lucky indeed to have had the life preserver of a loving relationship to cling to. But she acknowledges this openly in the book too, which leads me to believe her marriage really is as wonderful as she described. This book is a must read for anyone trying to parent while employed, for policy makers, and for business leaders. This is what we parents are going through. This is what makes us sometimes fall short of your measures of effectiveness and success. And this is what makes us real, live but broken Superheroes. I thought this book was an easy read, very funny and engaging, and I could identify with a lot of the feelings she had. I also liked how much research she did on how stress affects parenting, how the American workforce is set up and how it is not very family friendly, and all the other statistics she referenced throughout the book.I wanted this book to offer an Aha! moment with tips on how working mothers (or even really stressed out "stay-at-home" mothers) to combat the stress, tired, overworked feelings we encounter regularly. I didn't really get that. The afterward offered some tips, but I felt like it was exactly that...kind of an afterthought.But, other than that, it was a nice read...autobiographical story from a successful graphic designer who also wanted to do right by her family. I would recommend it to my working mom friends.
What do You think about Maxed Out: American Moms On The Brink (2013)?
I loved this. Strongly recommend for stressed out moms and anyone who wants to understand them.
—glendalyn
if you are a working mom in America, you should read this book...
—destiny
Rang sooooo true for me. Great discussion starter.
—Kelpurnia
Read in a day- super relatable for working mom.
—ramdas
