Meg Wolitzer has written a new novel called "The Ten-Year Nap," the story of several stay-at-home moms who, a decade into the gig, begin to question their lifestyles. In this interview with Salon, Wolitzer insists she is not taking sides in the so-called Mommy Wars and genuinely wants to show what life is like for women who opt out of the workforce.

I have not read "The Ten-Year Nap," although now I am certainly intrigued. But I do want to draw your attention to a point on page two of the article, which notes that most of the women guiding the whole stay-at-home-mother vs. stay-in-the-office-mother debate are writers who have always worked from home. Wolitzer admits she falls into that category, and that her husband works from home, too.

Of course, that doesn't mean she is unqualified to write a novel about the full-time momma experience. But it is an important reminder that some of the people stirring the pot on this controversial topic -- one that has been known to drive wedges between friends and fire up hateful comments on blogs -- have never been forced to make the stark choice between full-time work or no work at all. I can think of plenty of people (me! me!) who would be happy to make a reasonable living by working at home full-time with their husbands doing the same. If only all of us were so lucky.

Photo: Random House UK