Seasons of a Woman's Life

I wanted to write a review to counter balance the highly negative ones. I've found myself thinking about this book at random times during the day, not just when I am reading it. That makes it intriguing for me. Since I am near the age of the women in the book, I have found myself thinking about the issues that many of them faced in the tension between the 'traditional domestic' enterprise and the 'career' enterprise. I suggest that the reviewer, obviously younger, not be so dismissive of this research, just because it seems dated to her. If she is not facing some of these same issues and choices, it is because women before her made different ones. Also, I do not understand the dismissive comments about the author's research. True, it is not statistical analysis, but what makes a statistical analysis a superior research method? This is a thoroughly researched book, just researched in a style unfamiliar to the critical reviewer. I suggest that curious readers decide for themselves and not be put off by a couple bad reviews.

I began this book with genuine interest, but some trepidation after reading the previous and negative customer reviews. I have been compelled to write a review myself because I so thoroughly disagree with those reviews and hope to encourage others to explore the book for what it may offer them. In the book, the Levinsons share, discuss, and analyse the autobiographies of 45 diverse women. These stories are used to propose that adult development follows a somewhat consistent pattern, that is, is made up of predictable stages in a fashion similar to child development---each stage representing the struggle to solve particular developmental "problems" or issues. Like child development, the validity of these proposed stages, the factors that bring each stage about, and their consistency across adults will require a great deal of further study. I think it is possible that a good deal of the stage-like structure is simply due to the numerical system we use, that we spend 10 years being 30-something and 10 years being 40-something, and that these changes in numerical label evoke self evaluation--nothing in the Levinson's book denies this possibility. But regardless of whether further research supports this proposed structure in part or in its entirety, I think the book has much to offer. In viewing the lives of so many other women, and from the book's vantage point, I was able to step back and view my own life more objectively and to better articulate my own questions about my past decisions, current struggles, and future goals. Certainly no one life mirrored my own, but in their collective reflection I saw many aspects of myself and my life. The previous reviewers discounted the value of the book on the grounds that it was so outdated that the women represented could not speak to their modern lives and issues. Does 20 years really render human experience obsolete? Can it be that our mothers have nothing to say about the experience of Woman that can enrich and resonate with our own expereinces? This premise questions the utility of studying history altogether and is one I cannot support. I think that to ignore the commonalities that exist between thier lives and ours is self-centered, short-sighted, and it appears, even defensive. Women may presently have more freedom and opportunities than ever before, but the struggle between the many roles that women may now play has perhaps only intensified with added freedom. Keep in mind that our gender now celebrates women CEOs and yet has made Martha Stewart a mega-millionaire. The battle between domestic and professional drives is far from over. Perhaps by bearing witness to this battle taking place in others, we can hope to survive our own with fewer losses.