Through professional and personal relationships, I interact with professionals in many environments ranging from the corporate world to non-profit organizations and educational settings to small, family-owned businesses.  These interactions have shown that regardless of where one works, it is not uncommon, especially for women, to be striving for the ever-evasive work-life balance. In Roads Taken: Women in Student Affairs at Mid-Career Kristen Renn and Carole Hughes provide a forum for women in one profession to share their stories and provide support for other women.

I admit, I volunteered to review this book for somewhat selfish reasons. The title caught my eye because of my own career path. At an earlier point in my life, I was a student affairs staff member and on the eve of approaching mid-career before I moved into the "academic side of the house" as an administrator and doctoral student.  Three years later, months shy of graduating and contemplating my next move, I am looking for answers. Administration or faculty? Back to student affairs or further into academic affairs? While the authors in Roads Taken: Women in Student Affairs at Mid-Career, don't provide definitive answers for readers, they do provide options and ideas and most importantly, the knowledge that no woman is alone in this quest.

This book has two clear audiences, female administrators approaching or at mid-career and those who supervise them. Chapters are written by women making mid-career transitions and those reflecting upon past choices. Roads Taken is divided into five sections, each focusing on different challenges that women may face as their career evolves. While these topics, including relationships, families, and furthering one's education, are not unique to women in student affairs or even to higher education, some of the challenges and ways to conquer them are.

The first section, "Considering the Doctorate," focuses on a common dilemma for student affairs administrators--whether or not to go back to school and earn a doctorate. For those pursuing a faculty position, there is not a question—the terminal degree is a must; however, for women who plan to stay in administrative roles, these chapters can be helpful as they ponder the many questions that arise when considering the doctorate.  While the four women who share their stories all provide different decision making strategies and next steps, this section falls short by not providing stories from women who deliberated and then chose not to pursue the doctorate. While disappointed by this lack, it was not surprising since the editors admit their bias toward obtaining a terminal degree.  

The next two sections of Roads Taken focus on family; first, on partners and being part of a dual-career relationship, then on having children and trying to be a mom, a partner, and a professional in a field that does not always provide family friendly work hours.  The authors are candid and share the sacrifices they have made for their families and their careers, including long distance relationships, lateral and backwards steps in their careers, and changes in work schedules and responsibilities to accommodate children. These chapters are among the most interesting, revealing and helpful as the authors provide creative suggestions for "making it work." Not only should women in the throes of these personal and professional choices read these chapters, but so should their supervisors. The authors all make it clear that family members, co-workers, and supervisors supported them through their choices and advances.

In "I've Arrived," the aptly titled fourth section of Roads Taken, editor Carole Hughes reminds readers that  "arriving" in one's career means many different things.  The authors demonstrate that it does not mean the corner office, a title, or a salary.  For these women, "arriving" simply means finding that delicate balance between personal and professional life and being content there.

Roads Taken closes with a section and two stories of alternative routes that women have taken outside of the traditional student affairs path. As with the rest of the book, these chapters provide examples of other career trails to explore.

While Roads Taken: Women in Student Affairs at Mid-Career obviously is written for women in student affairs, many of the chapters in this book would be useful to any woman in higher education administration and looking to climb the proverbial career ladder.  Select chapters, focusing on the move to faculty positions, also may be of interest to female faculty members.

Roads Taken does not map out a career path for anyone, but it shares what other women have done and what options exist. As she closes her chapter, Sheila Shaw Horton advises that women should "…listen to others… (p. 160)." This book is the start of that listening process.