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I Don't Know How She Does It by Allison Pearson

I DON’T KNOW HOW SHE DOES IT by Allison Pearson

Publisher: Anchor Books, 368 pages

Publication Date: August 9, 2011

Summary: Delightfully smart and heartbreakingly poignant, Allison Pearson’s smash debut novel has exploded onto bestseller lists as “The national anthem for working mothers.” Hedge-fund manager, wife, and mother of two, Kate Reddy manages to juggle nine currencies in five time zones and keep in step with the Teletubbies. But when she finds herself awake at 1:37 a.m. in a panic over the need to produce a homemade pie for her daughter’s school, she has to admit her life has become unrecognizable. With panache, wisdom, and uproarious wit, I Don’t Know How She Does It brilliantly dramatizes the dilemma of every working mom.

Review: Ah, the age old question, Can you really have it all? And at what cost? Women are constantly being told that they can do it all, career success, financial success and still raise a happy family and be the perfect homemaker. You can’t help but wonder if we are setting ourselves up for failure, or at least a nervous breakdown. Are we trying to do TOO much? Kate Reddy is facing just this dilemma. She’s a working mom struggling for balance amidst a world that is moving far too quickly to even attempt “keeping up.”  The book looks at a woman’s life from every angle. The career woman trying to raise healthy, happy, confident children, maintain a loving marriage and build a successful career while fighting the powers that try to thwart her at every attempt. We also see the stay-at-home moms who feel they have put too much into raising a family and lost sight of themselves as individuals, as women with dreams and goals. With humorous and honest storytelling, Pearson has created a truly enjoyable novel that offers an unfiltered glimpse into the lives of women and the effects of modern motherhood.