Book Review: The Ten-Year-Nap

I am waiting eagerly for Meg Wolitzer's The Ten Year Nap to pop up on my library's New Books shelf. The author addresses what is now called "The Opt-Out Generation," educated female Gen-X overachievers who give up promising careers for a life in snot-stained capri pants.

It's an angst that is close to my heart. I think we can all agree that my children are better cared for and better educated than they would be by a team of preschool teachers and nannies, but at what expense? I have given up more than the average mommy, including a scholarship to an Ivy League college and the career that surely would have ensued. I know that I am doing the right thing by maintaining a constant presence in my children's lives, but at what expense? When I die, will my loved ones have anything to put in my obituary besides: amateur gourmet cook, fabulous accessorizer, planner of amazing vacations, keeper of an immaculate house? None of these issues compel me back to work, but I can't ignore the pervasive emptiness of a hausfrau's existence.

I have talents, damn it. Underneath my hoodie and boot cut jeans lies a woman with a genius-level IQ who can write poetry and play piano, who would be more comfortable having two martini lunches with sparkling conversation than hanging out at a playdate. This guilt compels me to over-do things a little--do the mouldings really need scrubbed once a week, after all?--as I struggle to fill the days with tangible results: tasks, however small and mundane, that I can point to as proof that Emily Was Here.

So I'm not the only woman who feels this way, apparently. I haven't read the book yet, but thank you, Mrs. Wolitzer, for letting me know I'm not alone.