KATRINA ALCORN
discusses her groundbreaking new book
MAXED OUT: AMERICAN MOMS ON THE BRINK
Are we “leaning in” so hard we’re falling over?
In Maxed Out, Katrina Alcorn explains why “having it all” is bringing American moms to the brink.
Women are primary or substantial earners in two-thirds of American families, yet the American workplace is uniquely unaccommodating to the needs of working mothers. In fact, the US is the only developed country that does not require paid maternity leave.
Katrina Alcorn was a 37-year-old mother of three with a loving husband and a dream job when one day, on the way to the store to buy diapers, she had a nervous breakdown. Her carefully built career came to a halt, and her journey through depression, anxiety, and insomnia—followed by medication, meditation, and therapy—began. Over time, as she began to ask herself how she was unable to meet the demands of having a career and a family, she realized she wasn’t the only one.
Maxed Out: American Moms on the Brink (Seal Press / $16.00 / September 2013) is the account of one working mom’s struggle to “have it all,” her subsequent breakdown, and the discovery that she was not alone. A whole generation of women are “maxing out” in their attempts to meet the daily demands of their lives. Conversations about “having it all” and “leaning in” all too often devolve into a discussion of personal choices, leaving working mothers feeling individually responsible for their inability to cope. Alcorn goes deeper by examining the cultural and institutional forces at work that make parenting difficult in this country.
Weaving research into her personal story, Alcorn makes a compelling social critique about the dysfunction between the careers and home lives of working mothers, as well as the consequences to women’s health. She ultimately offers readers a vision of change at every level, from our homes and hearts to our workplaces to government policies, resulting in a healthier, happier, and more productive way to work and live.
PRAISE
“So many working mothers are living in 'emotional debt' these days that this book is bound to strike a chord.” —Arlie Hochschild, author of The Second Shift
“…the book is a brave admission that we are not all successfully managing our overbooked lives, and should not feel alone. On the whole, the book provides a powerful reminder that even well-to-do mothers do not thrive in our current system, that having a positive attitude, leaning in, or opting out aren’t viable choices for many women.”—Publishers Weekly
“This is important, even essential, food for thought. We have to stop and take stock of our lives. We have to make sure that if it all ended tomorrow, we would feel right about the way we spent our time. That’s the conversation this book wants to start.”—Kelly Corrigan, New York Times bestselling author of The Middle Place and Lift
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Katrina Alcorn is a writer and an experience design consultant. She holds a master’s degree in journalism and documentary filmmaking from UC Berkeley, and is a regular blogger at WorkingMomsBreak.com and for The Huffington Post.
Since 1999, Alcorn’s day job has been leading design projects with corporations in a variety of industries to help them put technology in the service of people. This work has given her an insider’s glimpse into dozens of companies—from Fortune 500s to small startups—and she has spoken at more than a dozen design conferences internationally. She lives in Oakland, California, with her husband and three children.
For more information, please visit https://www.maxedoutbook.com
show less
discusses her groundbreaking new book
MAXED OUT: AMERICAN MOMS ON THE BRINK
Are we “leaning in” so hard we’re falling over?
In Maxed Out, Katrina Alcorn explains why “having it all” is bringing American moms to the brink.
Women are primary or substantial earners in two-thirds of American families, yet the American workplace is uniquely unaccommodating to the needs of working mothers. In fact, the US is the only developed country that does not require paid maternity leave.
Katrina Alcorn was a 37-year-old mother of three with a loving husband and a dream job when one day, on the way to the store to buy diapers, she had a nervous breakdown. Her carefully built career came to a halt, and her journey through depression, anxiety, and insomnia—followed by medication, meditation, and therapy—began. Over time, as she began to ask herself how she was unable to meet the demands of having a career and a family, she realized she wasn’t the only one.
Maxed Out: American Moms on the Brink (Seal Press / $16.00 / September 2013) is the account of one working mom’s struggle to “have it all,” her subsequent breakdown, and the discovery that she was not alone. A whole generation of women are “maxing out” in their attempts to meet the daily demands of their lives. Conversations about “having it all” and “leaning in” all too often devolve into a discussion of personal choices, leaving working mothers feeling individually responsible for their inability to cope. Alcorn goes deeper by examining the cultural and institutional forces at work that make parenting difficult in this country.
Weaving research into her personal story, Alcorn makes a compelling social critique about the dysfunction between the careers and home lives of working mothers, as well as the consequences to women’s health. She ultimately offers readers a vision of change at every level, from our homes and hearts to our workplaces to government policies, resulting in a healthier, happier, and more productive way to work and live.
PRAISE
“So many working mothers are living in 'emotional debt' these days that this book is bound to strike a chord.” —Arlie Hochschild, author of The Second Shift
“…the book is a brave admission that we are not all successfully managing our overbooked lives, and should not feel alone. On the whole, the book provides a powerful reminder that even well-to-do mothers do not thrive in our current system, that having a positive attitude, leaning in, or opting out aren’t viable choices for many women.”—Publishers Weekly
“This is important, even essential, food for thought. We have to stop and take stock of our lives. We have to make sure that if it all ended tomorrow, we would feel right about the way we spent our time. That’s the conversation this book wants to start.”—Kelly Corrigan, New York Times bestselling author of The Middle Place and Lift
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Katrina Alcorn is a writer and an experience design consultant. She holds a master’s degree in journalism and documentary filmmaking from UC Berkeley, and is a regular blogger at WorkingMomsBreak.com and for The Huffington Post.
Since 1999, Alcorn’s day job has been leading design projects with corporations in a variety of industries to help them put technology in the service of people. This work has given her an insider’s glimpse into dozens of companies—from Fortune 500s to small startups—and she has spoken at more than a dozen design conferences internationally. She lives in Oakland, California, with her husband and three children.
For more information, please visit https://www.maxedoutbook.com
KATRINA ALCORN
discusses her groundbreaking new book
MAXED OUT: AMERICAN MOMS ON THE BRINK
Are we “leaning in” so hard we’re falling over?
In Maxed Out, Katrina Alcorn explains why “having it all” is bringing American moms to the brink.
Women are primary or substantial earners in two-thirds of American families, yet the American workplace is uniquely unaccommodating to the needs of working mothers. In fact, the US is the only developed country that does not require paid maternity leave.
Katrina Alcorn was a 37-year-old mother of three with a loving husband and a dream job when one day, on the way to the store to buy diapers, she had a nervous breakdown. Her carefully built career came to a halt, and her journey through depression, anxiety, and insomnia—followed by medication, meditation, and therapy—began. Over time, as she began to ask herself how she was unable to meet the demands of having a career and a family, she realized she wasn’t the only one.
Maxed Out: American Moms on the Brink (Seal Press / $16.00 / September 2013) is the account of one working mom’s struggle to “have it all,” her subsequent breakdown, and the discovery that she was not alone. A whole generation of women are “maxing out” in their attempts to meet the daily demands of their lives. Conversations about “having it all” and “leaning in” all too often devolve into a discussion of personal choices, leaving working mothers feeling individually responsible for their inability to cope. Alcorn goes deeper by examining the cultural and institutional forces at work that make parenting difficult in this country.
Weaving research into her personal story, Alcorn makes a compelling social critique about the dysfunction between the careers and home lives of working mothers, as well as the consequences to women’s health. She ultimately offers readers a vision of change at every level, from our homes and hearts to our workplaces to government policies, resulting in a healthier, happier, and more productive way to work and live.
PRAISE
“So many working mothers are living in 'emotional debt' these days that this book is bound to strike a chord.” —Arlie Hochschild, author of The Second Shift
“…the book is a brave admission that we are not all successfully managing our overbooked lives, and should not feel alone. On the whole, the book provides a powerful reminder that even well-to-do mothers do not thrive in our current system, that having a positive attitude, leaning in, or opting out aren’t viable choices for many women.”—Publishers Weekly
“This is important, even essential, food for thought. We have to stop and take stock of our lives. We have to make sure that if it all ended tomorrow, we would feel right about the way we spent our time. That’s the conversation this book wants to start.”—Kelly Corrigan, New York Times bestselling author of The Middle Place and Lift
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Katrina Alcorn is a writer and an experience design consultant. She holds a master’s degree in journalism and documentary filmmaking from UC Berkeley, and is a regular blogger at WorkingMomsBreak.com and for The Huffington Post.
Since 1999, Alcorn’s day job has been leading design projects with corporations in a variety of industries to help them put technology in the service of people. This work has given her an insider’s glimpse into dozens of companies—from Fortune 500s to small startups—and she has spoken at more than a dozen design conferences internationally. She lives in Oakland, California, with her husband and three children.
For more information, please visit https://www.maxedoutbook.com
read more
discusses her groundbreaking new book
MAXED OUT: AMERICAN MOMS ON THE BRINK
Are we “leaning in” so hard we’re falling over?
In Maxed Out, Katrina Alcorn explains why “having it all” is bringing American moms to the brink.
Women are primary or substantial earners in two-thirds of American families, yet the American workplace is uniquely unaccommodating to the needs of working mothers. In fact, the US is the only developed country that does not require paid maternity leave.
Katrina Alcorn was a 37-year-old mother of three with a loving husband and a dream job when one day, on the way to the store to buy diapers, she had a nervous breakdown. Her carefully built career came to a halt, and her journey through depression, anxiety, and insomnia—followed by medication, meditation, and therapy—began. Over time, as she began to ask herself how she was unable to meet the demands of having a career and a family, she realized she wasn’t the only one.
Maxed Out: American Moms on the Brink (Seal Press / $16.00 / September 2013) is the account of one working mom’s struggle to “have it all,” her subsequent breakdown, and the discovery that she was not alone. A whole generation of women are “maxing out” in their attempts to meet the daily demands of their lives. Conversations about “having it all” and “leaning in” all too often devolve into a discussion of personal choices, leaving working mothers feeling individually responsible for their inability to cope. Alcorn goes deeper by examining the cultural and institutional forces at work that make parenting difficult in this country.
Weaving research into her personal story, Alcorn makes a compelling social critique about the dysfunction between the careers and home lives of working mothers, as well as the consequences to women’s health. She ultimately offers readers a vision of change at every level, from our homes and hearts to our workplaces to government policies, resulting in a healthier, happier, and more productive way to work and live.
PRAISE
“So many working mothers are living in 'emotional debt' these days that this book is bound to strike a chord.” —Arlie Hochschild, author of The Second Shift
“…the book is a brave admission that we are not all successfully managing our overbooked lives, and should not feel alone. On the whole, the book provides a powerful reminder that even well-to-do mothers do not thrive in our current system, that having a positive attitude, leaning in, or opting out aren’t viable choices for many women.”—Publishers Weekly
“This is important, even essential, food for thought. We have to stop and take stock of our lives. We have to make sure that if it all ended tomorrow, we would feel right about the way we spent our time. That’s the conversation this book wants to start.”—Kelly Corrigan, New York Times bestselling author of The Middle Place and Lift
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Katrina Alcorn is a writer and an experience design consultant. She holds a master’s degree in journalism and documentary filmmaking from UC Berkeley, and is a regular blogger at WorkingMomsBreak.com and for The Huffington Post.
Since 1999, Alcorn’s day job has been leading design projects with corporations in a variety of industries to help them put technology in the service of people. This work has given her an insider’s glimpse into dozens of companies—from Fortune 500s to small startups—and she has spoken at more than a dozen design conferences internationally. She lives in Oakland, California, with her husband and three children.
For more information, please visit https://www.maxedoutbook.com
show less
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