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{summary} Jane Friedman is the President and CEO of HarperCollins Publishers Worldwide. In 2006, Friedman was honored as Publishers Weekly Person of the Year. Here Jane takes time to reflect on her experience balancing life as a mother to Stefan, 31, Bradley, 25 and Stepkids, Dylan, 25 and Morgan, 23 with her wildly successful and demanding career. Samantha: Now that your children are adults, do you look back and wish you had done anything differently?Jane: I do not wish I had done anything differently with or for my children. Particularly now that I see what exceptional young men they have become.Samantha: Were there any women that served as your role models?Jane: There were no women who served as my role model on how to manage my multiple demanding rolls. And my situation was exaggerated by my being a single mother. I had to make it up as I went along. Samantha: What was your childcare situation like?Jane: It was the best it could possibly be. I hired a professional nanny, who happened to look like my mother (coincidentally something Bruno Bettelheim told me would work in my favor), who signed on for 3 months (after the birth of my older son, Stefan) and stayed for 26 years. This is indeed unusual.Samantha: Did you ever feel envious of your nanny?Jane: I never felt envious of Ms. Hoydis. When my children, Stefan and Bradley, were very young, (and this also included my semi-step children, Dylan and Morgan Stone) I decided that many of the decisions would be hers -- what they wore each day; what they ate each day; what time they went to bed, and so forth. We developed a true partnership. {pagebreak}Samantha: At what point was it hardest to balance your career and your home life?Jane: The hardest balancing act occurred during my very long, contentious divorce. It was clear to me that I could not bring my troubles to the office and that I had to switch gears from a situation where emotions ran very high. This helped me to become a very even tempered boss. I have counted to 10 more times than you can imagine.Samantha: What was your support system like as you were going through the toughest part of your balancing act?Jane: During this time, I had a strong partner who became a father figure to the boys. Jeff Stone influenced them greatly and instilled a sense of morality and maleness. For this I am eternally grateful. (He also naturally filled in for me at times when I was not available both at school and at play.) Samantha: There is a lot of talk about the "mommy wars" between working and stay at home moms. Did you feel that tension when you were raising your boys?Jane: I did not let the discussion about "go to work," "stay at home" bother me. I felt I was creating the correct situation for my immediate family. I come from a very traditional extended family, and I was sniped at by some of my uncles, but c'est la vie.Samantha: Were there any events you missed in your children's life due to work? How did you handle them?Jane: I tried to do it all. I was Class Mother. I was Soccer Mom. I attended all the Cello concerts, etc. there were a few times when I was out of town on business or just unavailable. (By the way, I always felt guilty when this happened.) But Jeff (and my mother) were great stand-ins when necessary and almost always accompanied me when I did attend. {pagebreak}Samantha: Your oldest son, Stefan, says that he couldn't be more proud of you. Did you always feel like your children were proud of your career?Jane: I always included my children in my work life. Authors were always around. I also always shared my adventures, such as visiting Mary Hemingway's home and seeing all the animal heads mounted on the walls...the animals of Ernest Hemingway. I do think, though, that they sometimes get tired of the acclaim I receive, and like all children, they manage to keep me in my place. When they visit, they almost certainly ask for Rocky Mountain toast to be made by me for them at all hours of the night.Samantha: When you look at young mothers today, do you feel like they have it easier than your generation or harder? Why?Jane: Today it is much more usual for a mother to have a child and return immediately to the workplace. She is not looked at as abandoning her child. In my day, there was some chitchat about this. Samantha: What advice would you give to young moms balancing big careers with raising children?Jane: That you do not have to be superhuman. Just "Have Faith. You can do it." But forget about sleeping. I have not slept through the night for 31 years. Also, for sure, hire a smart and kind caregiver.Samantha: How does your recently empty nest impact your career?Jane: The empty nest means that I do not have to be at home at any particular hour. As a "publishing" CEO, I like to attend as many author events as I can in the evening. I now have no guilt. The authors benefit, and so do I.Samantha: If you had an extra hour each day how would you spend it?Jane: I would read. I know this sounds strange being the CEO of a publishing company, but among reading reports, watching TV to keep up with contemporary culture, and doing emails, I have very little time to read for pleasure. http://modernmom.com/539/