Amy Saltzman

From Publishers Weekly
Disillusioned by the greedy, high-pressure Reagan years in which yuppie go-getters pursued success at all costs, Saltzman, an editor at U.S. News and World Report , hails the quiet rebellion of "downshifters" in a timely, perceptive report. While some professionals who came to feel trapped by their own achievements escaped by dropping out of the rat race altogether, the author singles out 20 men and women--journalists, doctors, lawyers, academics, salespeople--who have changed both goals and pace to achieve a better-balanced life. Some opted to move down a few steps on the professional ladder or to forgo a promotion that would involve increased stress. Most, she states, including those who became self-employed or relocated to a less hectic environment, claim to value challenges of their own making over rewards for conventional labor--along with the allure of flexible time.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
Fight Against the Cult of Busyness, August 5, 2000
Reviewer: Doug Yonamine (Chicago area) - See all my reviews
In the first chapter, author Amy Saltzman says, "...as I have conducted my own extensive interviews with professionals across the country, the yearning for change has become more pronounced. While the fast track and its accompanying imagery of career achievement still has its appeal, there is a pervasive feeling that we have drastically overemphasized its importance; that as individuals and as a society we need to reinvent our notion of success."

Saltzman then identifies the five innovative "downshifting" strategies, and presents real-life stories for each: Back-trackers (who choose self-demotion in order to have more time and less stress); Plateauers (who intentionally stay in place and in control by turning down promotions); Career-shifters (who transfer their skills to less pressured fields); Self-employers (who go solo for more control over work hours and location); and Urban Escapees (who opt for more hospitable, less stressful environments).

Saltzman's book was one of the first books I ever read on the topic of living a balanced life and I found her research, insights, and real-life stories a great encouragement. I finished her book convinced that I wasn't crazy to NOT want life in the fast lane and success as society was defining it. I also had hope that taking risks and faith steps to live my life at a manageable pace would reap great rewards. As Saltzman said, "Reinventing success often comes down to accepting less, and realizing that by doing so, we actually gain more."… (más)