Get to Work

A little while back I read a thought provoking book by Linda Hirshman called Get to Work. The book was interesting, and I suspect offensive at times to those who chose to stay at home. But, the book does make some important points about the need to stay in the labor market. In fact, it builds the argument that being 'financially dependent' on a spouse is not a good strategy to provide for your children.

I've seen the struggle recently as a good friend of mine is attempting to return to work while she is facing a rather complicated and unfriendly divorce. Her and her husband both agreed that she should stay home when they had a child, and she assumed that she might return to work one day, but it wasn't a pressing concern.

Now that she is in the midst of divorce and the emotionally and financial challenges associated with it, her employment gap is only causing her more despair and frustration. Returning to work after several years out of the workforce is hard. Doing so while dealing with a divorce and worrying about the impact on your child is nearly impossible.