“Here's the progression. Feminism won; you can have it all; of course you want children; mothers are better at raising children than fathers; of course your children come first; of course you come last; today's children need constant attention, cultivation, and adoration, or they'll become failures and hate you forever; you don't want to fail at that; it's easier for mothers to abandon their work and their dreams than for fathers; you don't want it all anymore (which is good because you can't have it all); who cares about equality, you're too tired; and whoops--here we are in 1954.”

“Words to Live By"Be careful what you're good at doing, because you'll probably do a lot of it.Be careful what you praise your children for doing, because they'll do a lot of it.Be careful what you criticize your children for doing, because they won't want to do it anymore.”

“I said to my children, 'I'm going to work and do everything that I can do to see that you get a good education. I don't ever want you to forget that there are millions of God's children who will not and cannot get a good education, and I don't want you feeling that you are better than they are. For you will never be what you ought to be until they are what they ought to be.”

“I want you forever, Kate. I want to grow old and have you here in my arms. I want children. I've wanted you for so long. I don't think that's about to change.”

“A lot of women want children.”“Right,” he said, coughing on the word. “Of course. But… don‟t you think you might want a husband first?”“Of course.”

“You don't hit a child when you want him to stop hitting. You don't yell at a children to get them to stop yelling. Or spit at a child to indicate that he should not spit. Of course, you want children to know how to sympathize with others and to "know how it feels," but you ... have to show them how to act—not how not to act.”