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We Dream A World

Housewife: Why Women Still Do It All and What to Do Instead

The notion of “housewife” evokes strong reactions. For some, it’s nostalgia for a bygone era, simpler and better times when men were breadwinners and women remained home with the kids. For others, it’s a sexist, oppressive stereotype of women’s work. Either way, housewife is a long outdated concept—or is it?

Lisa Selin Davis, known for her smart, viral, feminist, cultural takes, argues that the “breadwinner vs. homemaker” divide is a myth. She charts examples from prehistoric female hunters to working class housewives in the 1930s, from First Ladies to 21st century stay-at-home moms, on a search for answers to the problems of what is referred to as women’s work and motherhood. Davis discovers that women have been sold a lie about what families should be. Housewife unveils a truth: interdependence, rather than independence, is the American way.

The book is a clarion call for all women—married or single, mothers or childless—and for men, too, to push for liberation. In Housewife, Davis builds a case for systemic, cultural, and personal change, to encourage women to have the power to choose the best path for themselves.

More Adult, Non-Juvenile Books

  • Learning to Disagree Better by John Inazu
    Learning to Disagree: The Surprising Path to Navigating Differences with Empathy and Respect by John Inazu As a constitutional scholar, legal expert, and former litigator, John has spent his career learning how to disagree well with other people. In Learning to Disagree, John shares memorable stories and draws on the practices that legal training imparts–seeing the complexity in every issue and inhabiting the mindset of an opposing point of view–to help us handle daily encounters and lifelong relationships with those who see life very differently than we do.This groundbreaking, poignant, and highly practical book equips us to:
    • Understand what holds us back from healthy disagreement
    • Learn specific, start-today strategies for dialoguing clearly and authentically
    • Move from stuck, broken disagreements to mature, healthy disagreements
    • Cultivate empathy as a core skill for our personal lives and our whole society
    If you are feeling exhausted from the tattered state of dialogue in your social media feed, around the country, and in daily conversations, you’re not alone. Discover a more connected life while still maintaining the strength of your convictions through this unique, often-humorous, thought-provoking, and ultimately life-changing exploration of the best way to disagree.
  • Memory Piece, Lisa Ko’s highly anticipated second novel, is a gripping exploration of friendship, art, and ambition that reflects the complexities of American culture while posing essential questions about the future. Following the lives of three teenagers—Giselle Chin, Jackie Ong, and Ellen Ng—over several decades, the story delves into their evolving definitions of success and creativity in a rapidly changing world.
  • In Miss Austen, Cassandra Austen returns to Kintbury two decades after the death of her sister, Jane, determined to uncover a cache of Jane's letters that contain hidden secrets about both sisters. As she navigates the challenges of her surroundings, Cassandra must decide whether to reveal the intimate details of her life or protect her sister's legacy. This poignant tale intertwines memory and discovery, offering a fresh perspective on the life of a woman deeply connected to one of literature's most beloved figures.
  • Retired publisher Susan Ryeland is living the good life. She is running a small hotel on a Greek island with her long-term boyfriend Andreas. It should be everything she's always wanted. But is it? She's exhausted with the responsibilities of making everything work on an island where nothing ever does, and truth be told she's beginning to miss London.