Readable and challenging, this four-year study of three hundred middle-class and working-class couples debunks the myth of the overwrought working mother with her insensitive husband and neglected children. Drawing on extensive cross-disciplinary research, Rosalind Barnett and Caryl Rivers argue that "collaborative couples," busy as they are, thrive in their diverse roles, and inspire competence and confidence in their children.

With longer life spans, adult vigor can be extended well into the ninth decade of life. What does this mean for us as individuals and as a society? From re-imagining the workplace to rethinking marriage, sex, and social connections, this book examines how our institutions and attitudes must change to accommodate our new longer lives.