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APRIL PROMPT: HINDSIGHT
In Hindsight, I Could Never Have It All
It’s all overrated anyway
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In 1982, Helen Gurley Brown, then editor of US Cosmopolitan magazine, wrote a best-selling self-help book, “Having It All.”
Helen Gurley Brown was an outspoken advocate for women’s rights. Her book became a Bible for professional women who desired to work full-time, maintain healthy relationships, balance diet and exercise, and enjoy a fabulous sex life.
The phrase “having it all” became a famous mantra for busy women who were duped into thinking there was such a thing as a healthy work-life balance.
However, there was an ultimate flaw within the pages of the book. It had almost no mention of how to balance having children with “having it all” with a successful career, diet, and sexual life.
In fact, Helen Gurley Brown never had children of her own, so she never understood the ultimate struggle of attempting to find the balance between caring for a family and climbing the ranks of the corporate ladder.
Truthfully, I resent the phrase “having it all.” And I’m not alone.
Antoinette Lattouf wrote in her article for The Guardian:
