Women, children, and that book -- Final End

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Date Posted: 12:58:03 05/25/02 Sat
Author: Drummond
Subject: Women, children, and that book

Some letters in response to a story about the lack of sales for a book reinforcing old beliefs that women cannot be happy without having children. It seems that nobody's buying it, literally and figuratively.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/22/opinion/L22BOOK.html?ex=1022731200&en=3830f34e9c0976e6&ei=5040&partner=MOREOVER

Women, Children and That Book
o the Editor:

Re "The Talk of the Book World Still Can't Sell" (front page, May 20):

I'm not so sure that women aren't buying Sylvia Ann Hewlett's book "Creating a Life: Professional Women and the Quest for Children" because it taps into a "deep level of anxiety," as the publisher states. I think it's because the book's premise isn't all that new or surprising.

It sounds as if the author did a lot of research to find out what most women know intuitively: if you wait too long, for whatever reason, you may end up missing out on motherhood.
KATE CONNELL
Holliston, Mass., May 20, 2002
�
To the Editor:

The obvious reason for the poor sales of "Creating a Life: Professional Women and the Quest for Children" is overexposure (front page, May 20). Why would anyone pay $22 for this book when its premise and theories are being discussed ad nauseam in the media?

This is one case where the public relations folks did their jobs too well.
DAWN CARIELLO
Princeton, N.J., May 20, 2002
�
To the Editor:

Another side to the "have babies early or be forever regretful" view presented in Sylvia Ann Hewlett's book is its masking of the joyful lives that women can have without children (front page, May 20).

Turning 50 this week, I cherish the life without children that my husband and I have chosen, particularly for the time it's given me to work for social justice.

Participating in social activism is critical work, yet it seems harder and harder for working parents raising children to find the time for engaging in such endeavors. People without children can help fill this void.

While I am not contributing my genes to the world, I am contributing my passion. Surely I am not alone, but I've yet to read a book about people like me.
DENISE ROSE
Oak Park, Ill., May 20, 2002
�
To the Editor:

Sylvia Ann Hewlett's book "Creating a Life" had all the ingredients to become a best seller; so why hasn't the book sold (front page, May 20)? I suggest a reason missed by analysts.

Authors need readers who are aligned with their message. If Christina Hoff Sommers ("Who Stole Feminism?") critiques feminism, she reaches a conservative audience. If Carol Gilligan ("In a Different Voice") is sympathetic to women, feminist readers buy her books.

But who will buy a book by the founder of the National Parenting Association who has been praised by progressive authorities when she declares that professional women are doomed to unhappiness?
HOWARD GARDNER
Cambridge, Mass., May 20, 2002
The writer is a professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

To the Editor:

Re "The Talk of the Book World Still Can't Sell" (front page, May 20):

Missing from the list of reasons for the unexpectedly low sales of Sylvia Ann Hewlett's "Creating a Life: Professional Women and the Quest for Children": women's self-confidence. The idea that women are afraid to read it is just plain daft.
PATRICIA O'TOOLE
New York, May 20, 2002
�
To the Editor:

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out why Sylvia Ann Hewlett's book isn't selling (front page, May 20). The media find the book fascinating because it fuels the anti-feminist backlash; women don't, for the same reason. Why is no one telling the story of the countless older women who are childless because they don't want any children?
REBECCA STANTON
New York, May 21, 2002

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Replies:

How about the nauseating concept behind the book itself? -- Lona, 15:44:50 05/26/02 Sun
- Definitely! -- Drummond, 01:29:45 05/27/02 Mon
  - Ah, yes, bust see... -- Lona, 02:52:43 05/27/02 Mon
  - Hey Drummond? -- shauna, 21:58:11 05/27/02 Mon
    - We just sent in the visa application -- Drummond, 23:06:24 05/27/02 Mon
      - that's great... -- shauna, 00:10:39 05/28/02 Tue
        Two teenage kids got into trouble -- Drummond, 23:03:26 05/28/02 Tue
Re: Women, children, and that book -- sue da babe, 10:33:42 05/28/02 Tue