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Hardcover
$32.00
Available on May 04, 2027 | 304 Pages
What if the only thing standing in the way of your happiness was your principles?
Sadie Harrington is a feminist. A journalist for a lefty New York City publication, she’s done the reading, written the articles, opined in public and in private. So when, on assignment, she begins to live by the tenets of a midcentury guidebook to wifeliness, she figures her wry sense of humor and gimlet eye for bullshit will carry her through. Sadie begins treating her husband, Owen, as the head of the household: letting him make all the financial decisions, deferring to his opinions, asking him to open jam jars because he’s so much stronger than she is. Little does Sadie expect: quickly, the discord in her marriage becomes harmonious, her children are better behaved, and her house is actually clean for once.
Sadie figures her newfound tradwife ethos is the reason. After all, where has her feminism ever actually gotten her besides a reputation as a scold? Is the secret to contentment actually…giving up the fight? Embracing her femininity? But as all her wildest dreams come true, Sadie has to ask herself if the price of domestic bliss is actually worth paying.
Sadie Harrington is a feminist. A journalist for a lefty New York City publication, she’s done the reading, written the articles, opined in public and in private. So when, on assignment, she begins to live by the tenets of a midcentury guidebook to wifeliness, she figures her wry sense of humor and gimlet eye for bullshit will carry her through. Sadie begins treating her husband, Owen, as the head of the household: letting him make all the financial decisions, deferring to his opinions, asking him to open jam jars because he’s so much stronger than she is. Little does Sadie expect: quickly, the discord in her marriage becomes harmonious, her children are better behaved, and her house is actually clean for once.
Sadie figures her newfound tradwife ethos is the reason. After all, where has her feminism ever actually gotten her besides a reputation as a scold? Is the secret to contentment actually…giving up the fight? Embracing her femininity? But as all her wildest dreams come true, Sadie has to ask herself if the price of domestic bliss is actually worth paying.
Author
Sara Petersen
Sara Petersen is a sharp cultural critic whose writing on motherhood, feminism, and digital culture has been featured in the New York Times, the Washington Post, Harper’s Bazaar, Glamour, The Cut, and more. She is the author of Momfluenced: Inside the Maddening, Picture-Perfect World of Mommy Influencer Culture. She also writes “In Pursuit of Clean Countertops” on Patreon, a newsletter about bad ideals of good womanhood, and cohosts the Clean Countertops podcast with Emily J. Smith. A Fascinating Woman is her debut novel.
Learn More about Sara Petersen