Guilt is the primary motivation for the central character of Amanda Bright @ Home. First it’s guilt for being away at work and not being there for her two growing children. So she quits and becomes a full-time stay-at-home mom. Now Amanda’s filled with guilt for having violated the tenets of women’s lib that she’d been spoon-fed by her mother from an early age. She also feels guilty for leaving the financial burden of their household entirely on her husband, who’s a lawyer working on a measly government salary.
But as life progresses, Amanda finds that she’s not getting any satisfaction from house, children or her marriage. The school her two children attend is an upscale and snooty one where her boisterous son just doesn’t fit in, and where Amanda finds nothing in common with either the condescending teachers or the rich and socially ambitious moms. Her husband is immersed in preparing a highly controversial case. Suddenly Amanda feels very much left alone. All the while, she is looking for some purpose to her life, some goal, and nothing seems to satisfy her.
As the novel progresses, author Danielle Crittenden brings out every dilemma and exposes every qualm every woman in today’s modern times has to go through. It’s the eternal struggle between home and career which fills every woman with doubts and causes much soul-searching. And while the book looks at the process, it doesn’t provide readers with a solution. Rather, it points out that the answer is as different as the women asking the question. This serious issue is addressed in a light vein, with humor and in-depth observations making reading this fictional account a fun time.