In 1975, which was the height of the women's movement, I thought I'd write a book on women's history. But in searching for a topic, I realized that there were few places in history where men and women interacted. Finally, it hit me: 'Oh, look at the family. That's the one place.'

There is no denying that we have made great progress toward gender equality.

Feminism insists on women's right to make choices - about whether to marry, whether to have children, whether to combine work and family or to focus on one over the other. It also urges men and women to share the joys and burdens of family life and calls on society to place a higher priority on supporting caregiving work.

Feminism needs a political program because gender inequality has been fostered by political decisions.

What I really am is a homebody. I was a homebody even before I had a family. My days are filled with home stuff.

I always assumed that, like my mother before me, one day I would have children. When I was 5, my fantasy was to have a hundred dogs and a hundred kids.

When I married Marjorie, along with her, I got this very large family and a bunch of family friends. It's a dynamic I've never been around. I've always been kind of a loner, and my attempts at domestic life failed miserably. So the family dynamic is a great thing.

I wanted to write something in a voice that was unique to who I was. And I wanted something that was accessible to the person who works at Dunkin Donuts or who drives a bus, someone who comes home with their feet hurting like my father, someone who's busy and has too many children, like my mother.