第93页 Chapter 7 Don’t Leave Before You Leave

But when it comes to integrating career and family, planning too far in advance can close doors rather than open them. 
The more satisfied a person is with her position, the less likely she is to leave.
What I am arguing is that the time to scale back is when a break is needed or when a child arrives—not before, and certainly not years in advance.
I also make it clear that I am only asking (whether or not they are leaving too early, note) for one reason: to make sure they aren’t limiting their options unnecessarily.
O’Connor now refers to herself as “a career-loving parent,” a nice alternative to “working mom.”
The birth of a child instantly changes how we define ourselves. 
Our priorities shift in fundamental ways.
This exodus of highly educated women is a major contributor to the leadership gap.
It seems liked if this extraordinary woman couldn’t make it work, who could? Soon after, I was offered a big job at a bank and I turned it down because my daughter was just a year old and I didn’t’ think I could do it. Almost a decade later, I took a similar job and did it well, but I lost a decade. I actually saved that clipping and still have it today. It is a reminder of what I don’t want another generation to go through.
But professional women need to measure the cost of child care against their future salary rather than their current salary. 
It we make it too easy for women to drop out of the career marathon, we also make it too hard for men. 
Choosing to leave a child in someone else’s care and return to work is a difficult decision. Any parent who has done this, myself included, knows how heart wrenching it can be. Only a compelling, challenging, and rewarding job will begin to make that choice a fair contest. 
Anyone who lucky enough to have options should keep them open. Don’t enter the workforce already looking for the exit. Don’t put on the brakes. Accelerate. Keep a foot on the gas pedal until a decision must be made. That’s the only way to ensure that when that day comes, there will be a real decision to make.