Second Shift

Hochschild makes a wonderful job in bringing us into the lives of these couples. Her insights and comments on why people act a certain way are really great. I can't help but lose myself in her writing- often with tears in my eyes about why patriarchy is so embedded within us.

As a college-age male, one might think that I would have little reason to read a study about the struggles of working women. That is wrong. This insightful, modest study of family life (witnessed by the capable Arlie Hochschild as a fly-on-the-wall) gives perspective on a dillemma everyone should think about before marriage: how to reconcile economic and personal needs with having children. This problem affects women and men, mothers and fathers. Unfortunately, it is rarely talked about in our society. People are forced to muddle through using their parents as examples, or to try to construct new strategies from scratch. Hochschild provides a useful structure for discussing the problem and avoiding the emotional and marital cost of relying on "myths." Any serious couple should be able to talk about these subjects to avoid misunderstanding and conflict. One problem with this book is the writing - the points do not always flow together, and sometimes the sentences are simply awkward. This study is also weighted toward middle class families, though it explores others as well. Despite being over a decade old, this book is still relevant. Well worth reading, whether you are deciding on a career, getting married, or already trying to balance both.

If you have kids, carreer, and a husband, you must read this enlightning social probe into the lives of families just like yours. You will feel 'comfort' knowing that you are not alone if you are feeling crazy, anxious, or overwhelmed. Before you quit your job, or think of having another child.....Read this!!!

Hochschild's book is a superb description of what so many of of us live but barely understand. She examines the demands of work in the home and outside, the gender identities that shape our feeling toward work, the goals that shape our chices and the intentions that define our commununication about responsiblity. The author validates the struggle of working women, without bashing men and talks about how to resolve the "stalled revolution" of shared responsibility both at home and in the workplace. Most importantly, Hochschild illuminates how our methods of dealing with the second shift, not the second shift itself per se, negatively impact our children.

This book, which voices something that has been long silent, explains how women have been overburdened as a result of living in a world which no longer accepts part-time work. Even though women have resulted in incredible gains in the latter half of the 20th century, and have gained enfranchisement into many careers that were formerly only the domain of men, there still lurks the job of being a mother, which is NOT a part-time job. This book is highly recommended, not for only the truth and candor that it tells, but for the questions that it poses.Dexter Fabi