Agreeing to Disagree

The debate between stay-at-home mothers and those moms who work outside the home doesn't stay quiet for long. Leslie Bennett's, The Feminine Mistake, a book that examines the downside of women leaving the workforce, stirred the pot of controversy back in May, over what's best for women vs. what's best for children.

Pamela Stone shared her study of women who "opt out", in her similarly titled book, Opting Out. Publishers Weekly says of her book, "Stone's revealing study adds an important counterpoint to Leslie Bennetts's The Feminine Mistake."

If you're tired of the glut of studies and strong opinions of experts on this on-again-off again, yet sure to be never-ending debate, and are in search of a more entertaining way to examine the topic, pick up Gwendolen Gross's, The Other Mother.

Gross has penned a dual first person narrative that fictionalizes the "mommy wars," pitting two women against each other. Over the course of one year, each woman grapples with her choices around work and raising children. Whether you side with Amanda, editor and mother of newborn Malena, or with Thea, stay-at-home mother of three, you'll agree Gross has a wonderful knack for capturing domestic detail.

While I strongly recommend staying up to date on the latest research on what's best for children, sometimes the best way to examine your own opinions is to reflect on the issue from the perspective of fictional characters. I admire any writer who can take the salient points of a hot button issue and create a story that's filled with authentic character motives in a way that gets readers thinking. Gwendolen Gross has accomplished this with The Other Mother.