Curiously, some two-and-a-half years and two novels later, my experiment in what the Americans term downshifting has turned my tired excuse into an absolute reality. I have been transformed from a passionate advocate of the philosophy of having it all,preached by Linda Kelsey for the past seven years in the page of She magazine, into a woman who is happy to settle for a bit of everything.
I have discovered, as perhaps Kelsey will after her much-publicized resignation from the editorship of She after a build up of stress, that abandoning the doctrine of juggling your life,and making the alternative move into downshifting brings with it far greater rewards than financial success and social status. Nothing could persuade me to return to the kind of life Kelsey used to advocate and I once enjoyed:12 hour working days, pressured deadlines, the fearful strain of office politics and the limitations of being a parent on quality time.