...As women's rights increased, as women gradually got the message that it was certainly possible for them to do most things that men did, that they live longer, that their brains were not tinier- then, finally, when the really big news rolled in, that they could choose whether or not to be mothers- what happened? The Motherhood Myth soared higher than ever…the '40's and '50's produced a group of ladies who not only had babies as if they were going out of style (maybe they were) but, as never before, they turned motherhood into a cult....

American journalist, television reporter, and nonfiction writer. Born in New York City, Rollin spent several years as a stage and television actress before beginning her career in journalism, first at Vogue and then at Look. In 1971, she became a television news correspondent, chiefly for NBC, where her series on the American Indians on South Dakota's Pine Ridge Reservation won an Emmy. Rollin is the author of seven books, including First, You Cry (1976), detailing her bouts with breast cancer; Am I Getting Paid for This? A Romance about Work (1982); Last Wish (1985), about her terminally ill mother's assisted suicide; and Here's the Bright Side: Of Failure, Fear, Cancer, Divorce, and Other Bum Raps (2007), with illustrations by cartoonist Jules Feiffer. See also harrywalker.com/speaker/Betty-Rollin.cfm?Spea_ID=193.