About this item
Cut Adrift makes an important and original contribution to the national conversation about inequality and risk in American society. Set against the backdrop of rising economic insecurity and rolled-up safety nets, Marianne Cooper’s probing analysis explores what keeps Americans up at night. Through poignant case studies, she reveals what families are concerned about, how they manage their anxiety, whose job it is to worry, and how social class shapes all of these dynamics, including what is even worth worrying about in the first place. This powerful study is packed with intriguing discoveries ranging from the surprising anxieties of the rich to the critical role of women in keeping struggling families afloat. Through tales of stalwart stoicism, heart-wrenching worry, marital angst, and religious conviction, Cut Adrift deepens our understanding of how families are coping in a go-it-alone age—and how the different strategies on which affluent, middle-class, and poor families rely upon not only reflect inequality, but fuel it.
About the Author
Marianne Cooper, Ph.D. is a sociologist at the Clayman Institute for Gender Research at Stanford University and an affiliate at the Stanford Center on Poverty and Inequality.She was the lead researcher for Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg and is a contributor to LeanIn.org. She is the author of Cut Adrift: Families in Insecure Times, which examines how families are coping in an insecure age. She is an expert on gender, family life, work, economic insecurity, and social and economic inequality. She writes, speaks, and consults about these issues for media outlets, professional groups, and companies such as Amazon, American Express, and Kraft. Dr. Cooper received her Ph.D. in sociology from the University of California, Berkeley. She lives in Silicon Valley with her husband and two young children.
