Women Leaving the Workplace

How to Make the Transition
from Work to Home

By Larry Burkett
Moody Press, $18.99

ISBN 0-8024-9161-8

Review by Kathy Boice

Moms Back from Work

"How well she remembered standing by the stove still in her heels and suit, balancing a clutching baby on each hip, wondering what to prepare for dinner, trying to give her husband the attention he needed and not having a clue what had transpired in her daughter's life that day."

This is just one of the many personal accounts of working moms nationwide who are exchanging their "power" suits and lunches for diapers and peanut butter sandwiches. Larry Burkett's new release Women Leaving the Workplace examines this growing trend and offers step-by-step advice to insure stay-at-home success.

According to the June 1994 issue of Fortune magazine, the work force of women 24 to 35 years of age is declining for the first time in 30 years. Burkett cites a combination of forces influencing working women to "clock out" in favor of full-time mommy-hood. Among them are the alarming juvenile delinquency rate, the almost daily reports of child care abuse, and the new feasibility of home-based business.

When asked if a man could write this book, one focus group responded, "Maybe with enough testimonies." When asked if Larry Burkett could write this book, the women in the group replied, "No way, he's too practical." But Burkett wisely based the book's content on the responses of a nationwide survey of stay-at-home moms and added generous seasonings of the practical advice he is known for giving.

While he is an advocate of this choice for mothers of children, the book is not a debate on the biblical issues regarding the place of women in a culture. This is a hands-on, how-to resource for women who have already worked through the issues for themselves. Women Leaving the Workplace is a trustworthy guide that enables moms to make informed choices on everything from budgeting and bartering to homeschooling and home-based businesses.

"Most of the Christian community have sanctioned the concept that mothers should be at home when their children need them," Burkett points out, but as he goes on to say, we haven't done a very good job of teaching young families how to accomplish this without destroying their finances--and sometimes their marriages.

After all, we're talking about reducing your family's income by half (or more), giving up most of your friends who will then think you're a traitor or a dropout, and spending your days with demanding kids instead of adults. Piece of cake--right? Wrong. Burkett cautions women to resist quitting their jobs out of frustration, but first to get out of debt, plan well, be willing to sacrifice--and to expect criticism.

One of the great strengths of this book is the in-the-trenches tips from thousands of stay-at-home moms. Of the group surveyed, 55 percent were college graduates and 11.2 percent had masters degrees. Overall they encourage women to stay focused on why they are home, establish a network of friends, and be persistent.

Several women gave stern advice to "know your spouse well before undertaking this decision," and the vast majority reported that a successful transition required their husbands' support. Those who failed to do so said the resulting discontent negated virtually all the benefits of being at home.

Larry Burkett, whose name has become a financial household staple, provides far more than a family budget analysis or a quick lesson in obtaining health care. Burkett points to a bottom line worth far more than the sum of the line items. That quotient is "Mom," who juggles jobs, hurdles clothes hampers, and tells the family when supper is hot. Whether full-time or part-time, there is no substitute for her.

As William Ross Wallace said more than a hundred years ago, "The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world." In the pages of Women Leaving the Workplace those hands are clearly a powerful tool for a challenging job.

Kathy Boice is a freelance reviewer and art director from Bend, OR.