The tale of the crazy-in-love astronette is being played as a morality tale for the super-mom who wants to have it all – don’t be silly. Myrna Blyth has a better take:
“In many ways, ‘Lisa’s Losing It’ is already being played as another cautionary tale of a working mom crumpling under the stress of coping with a family – she has a teenage son and five-year-old twin daughters – and a too-demanding job. In a recent ‘Right Stuff’ interview for Ladies’ Home Journal, Lisa, who describes herself as ‘competitive, determined, ambitious,’ talks about trying six times to get into test pilot school. When she finally got in, she had a nine-month-old baby, which “was definitely a challenge.” A friend said about her, ‘[Lisa] was the epitome of managing a very hectic career, making sacrifices to accommodate her family. All these stresses can conspire to overwhelm.'”
“Yet her totally aberrant actions seems to me more related to the great letdown that competitive, determined, ambitious people, both men and women, can sometimes experience in the middle of their lives, especially after achieving what they always thought they wanted . Remember St. Teresa’s wise admonition that more tears are shed over answered prayers than unanswered.”