Synopses & Reviews
In my twenties, I thought sex and career would solve everything. At thirty, I thought marriage would. Later I tried motherhood, therapy, and then divorce. At forty, I decided to renovate.
With all the choices available to todays women, why dont they more feel fulfilled? What Women Want Next is Susan Mausharts meditationby turns profound and laugh-out-loud funnyon that central dilemma of postfeminist life. At one point she had it all, so why wasnt she happy? With What Women Want Next, Maushart combines research with personal history in a dynamic attempt to answer this question.
Feminism may have led women to lifes banquet table, but the meal they make of it is up to them. How to balance life and work, sex and sleep, child care and self-care? And why has womens guiltthat glass ceiling of the soulbecome the biggest barrier they face? What Women Want Next is the first book to look at the spectrum of a womans life and attempt to demonstrate how she can shape her own destiny throughout all its stages. Susan Maushart was born in New York and has lived in Australia since 1985. She is a senior research associate at Curtin University, and a columnist for the Australian Magazine. She lives in Perth with her three children. With all the choices available to todays women, why dont they more feel fulfilled? What Women Want Next is Susan Mausharts meditationby turns profound and laugh-out-loud funnyon that central dilemma of postfeminist life. At one point she had it all, so why wasnt she happy? With What Women Want Next, Maushart combines research with personal history in a dynamic attempt to answer this question.
Feminism may have led women to lifes banquet table, but the meal they make of it is up to them. How to balance life and work, sex and sleep, child care and self-care? And why has womens guiltthat glass ceiling of the soulbecome the biggest barrier they face? What Women Want Next is the first book to look at the spectrum of a womans life and attempt to demonstrate how she can shape her own destiny throughout all its stages. "Maushart offers a breezy style, vivid personal anecdotes and a funny take on female-male relationships."Kirkus Reviews "What Women Want Next lays out a detailed guide for living well and happily within realistic expectations, a book about counting blessings and determination."Sunday Telegraph (Australia)
"This is feminism at its page-turning best: engaging with rather than preaching to contemporary women. Reading this book is like having a heart-to-heart about all these issues with a (very informed) friend."Good Reading (Australia) "In an attempt to figure out how women can achieve happiness vis-à-vis sex, marriage, motherhood and work, Australia-based author Maushart surveys the writings of feminists, conservative gurus, psychiatrists and spiritual leaders, including bestsellers like Germaine Greer, Laura Schlessinger, the Dalai Lama, Freud and Arlie Hochschild. Women must stop blaming othersmen, doctors, the patriarchy, their mothers, their own hormonesfor the way their lives are turning out, self-described feminist Maushart concludes, because freedom has its price. And if what women want next are marriages that are mathematically equal, that won't be easily achieved if women seek taller, wealthier, older men of higher social status. Women want to reintegrate motherhood into the rest of their lives, and those who choose to be stay-at-home moms are no less a feminist success story than their career-oriented sisters. Furthermore, women's ambivalence about gender roles is responsible for such failed feminist agendas as equal pay for equal work."Publishers Weekly
Review
Praise for What Woman What Next:"Maushart offers a breezy style, vivid personal anecdotes and a funny take on female-male relationships."—Kirkus Reviews “What Women Want Next lays out a detailed guide for living well and happily within realistic expectations, a book about counting blessings and determination.”—Sunday Telegraph (Australia) “This is feminism at its page-turning best: engaging with rather than preaching to contemporary women. Reading this book is like having a heart-to-heart about all these issues with a (very informed) friend.”—Good Reading (Australia)
Synopsis
In my twenties, I thought sex and career would solve everything. At thirty, I thought marriage would. Later I tried motherhood, therapy, and then divorce. At forty, I decided to renovate.
With all the choices available to today's women, why don't they more feel fulfilled? What Women Want Next is Susan Maushart's meditation--by turns profound and laugh-out-loud funny--on that central dilemma of postfeminist life. At one point she had it all, so why wasn't she happy? With What Women Want Next, Maushart combines research with personal history in a dynamic attempt to answer this question.
Feminism may have led women to life's banquet table, but the meal they make of it is up to them. How to balance life and work, sex and sleep, child care and self-care? And why has women's guilt--that glass ceiling of the soul--become the biggest barrier they face? What Women Want Next is the first book to look at the spectrum of a woman's life and attempt to demonstrate how she can shape her own destiny throughout all its stages.
About the Author
Susan Maushart was born in New York and has lived in Australia since 1985. She is a senior research associate at Curtin University, and a columnist for the Australian Magazine. She lives in Perth with her three children.