Smart Choices That Will Change Your Life

When Does Caring Turn into Carrying?. Smart Choices that Will Change Your Life helps women learn how not to carry the burden-emotional and financial, at home and at work-in their relationships with others, and how to start truly caring for themselves. Speaking to thousands of women across the country, Hattie Hill listened to the problems they had in reconciling their original expectations of marriage and career with the realities of today's world. Smart, high-achieving women have an I-can-do-it attitude, but in their determination to accomplish things, they over commit, which often results in burnout, resentment, and frustration.. Smart Choices that Will Change Your Life explores the dilemma of today's women who shoulder a disproportionate share of the load. Hattie Hill takes the reader on a journey of self-discovery with seven smart women who crossed the line, carried their men, carried their families, and even carried their business associates and co-workers:- The Achiever-Reba, a successful entrepreneur, carried her family with her income until her husband's bad investments caught up with him.- The Juggler-Marta, a corporate executive, worked long hours while she organized the lives of her husband, five children, and aging parents.- The Fixer-Sarah, a corporate senior manager, went into overdrive for her company while her husband sat at home, discouraged and unemployed.- The Mother Hen-Michelle, a courageous woman on kidney dialysis, gave advice and support to everyone in her personal and professional life.( The Doer-Tamara, a graceful, athletic artist, went into overdrive while her husband could barely hold down a job-and then his mother moved in.- The Determined One-Joan, a public relations specialist, carried an exhausting load for years because of her own ambition until she finally told her husband that he, too, must contribute to the financial load. - The Adviser-Kate finally started a consulting business, when the rest of her family started leaning heavily on her for emotional support and she became chief family adviser and rescuer.. Smart Choices that Will Change Your Life tells readers not only why, but also how these women instituted the changes, one day at a time, that revolutionized their lives.