ECONOMY // QUITTING OUT LOUD

Gen X Women Get It Done

We’re not ‘leaning in’—we’re reshaping what work is

by JoAnn Garbin

EXCERPT //

It’s 1986, and a 10-year-old girl arrives home after school, expecting an ordinary afternoon—a bowl of Honeycombs, an episode of The A-Team, a quick bike ride across town to see some friends before Mom gets home from work. But something’s off. Her dog, a big goofy lab who usually tackles her at the door, is camped out in the living room, on watch. Because there, on the couch, are the girl’s mom and two older brothers, all immobilized with legs in casts. No one has to say it. She knows instantly—she’s now the family’s lifeline. Cooking, cleaning, running errands, managing the house. Just her, the bravado of not knowing she couldn’t do it, and the absolute necessity of getting it done. //



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