Overwhelmed: Work, Love, and Play When No One Has the Time
Ratings9
Average rating3.8
In her attempts to juggle work and family life, Brigid Schulte has baked cakes until 2 a.m., frantically (but surreptitiously) sent important emails during school trips and then worked long into the night after her children were in bed. Realising she had become someone who constantly burst in late, trailing shoes and schoolbooks and biscuit crumbs, she began to question, like so many of us, whether it is possible to be anything you want to be, have a family and still have time to breathe. So when Schulte met an eminent sociologist who studies time and he told her she enjoyed thirty hours of leisure each week, she thought her head was going to pop off. What followed was a trip down the rabbit hole of busy-ness, a journey to discover why so many of us ?nd it near-impossible to press the 'pause' button on life and what got us here in the ?rst place. Overwhelmed maps the individual, historical, biological and societal stresses that have ripped working mothers' and fathers' leisure to shreds, and asks how it might be possible for us to put the pieces back together. Seeking insights, answers and inspiration, Schulte explores everything from the wiring of the brain and why workplaces are becoming increasingly demanding, to worldwide differences in family policy, how cultural norms shape our experiences at work, our unequal division of labour at home and why it's so hard for everyone – but women especially – to feel they deserve an elusive moment of peace.
Reviews
Popular Reviews
Reviews with the most likes.
I heard Brigid's interview on the radio and decided this book could have useful information for anyone. It does-read the bulleted appendix and find a few nuggets. But it does not come across as useful to anyone. Generally, I am not living in “the overwhelm,” so maybe my first problem was that I couldn't completely see myself in the book.
I was disappointed with the disjointed narrative, in part because the thesis seemed to change. So much of this book is about the singular condition of working middle class wives in America, although parts admit that all adults can feel time pressured. Even though I am part of the target audience, I felt like much of the good points in the book were hampered by whining about the challenges.
The author does go on informative adventures like having fun, learning about Danish culture, and talking with experts. Sections from these adventures are useful and are largely summarized in the Appendices.
Best of luck to Brigid as she continues to seek peace.
The book itself is great; the subtitle was poorly chosen. It should be something like “Why Mom Never Has Time” since it's almost entirely focused on working women with kids.
It covers a lot of ground, opening with a relatable description of The Overwhelm, discussion of negative workplace norms toward mothers and family-focused dads, family implications when there's inherent bias toward the “woman-as-homemaker” mindset, examples of people doing it better (Denmark) and why play is worth thinking about. If you read nothing else, read the section on Play.
While the author talks about herself, her family, and how she's made changes as a result of her research, this definitely reads more like investigative journalism (her profession) vs. a personal memoir, with an extensive list of endnotes.
My favorite part was about how the culture of work, leisure, and parenting in other countries (Denmark) compare to that in the U.S. It doesn't have to be this way. But it is.
