In Life After Ambition: A “Good Enough” Memoir, Canadian writer Amil Niazi offers deeper context for her writings on work, motherhood and societal expectations appreciated by so many readers of her column on parenting, “The Hard Part,” in New York magazine’s fashion and lifestyle vertical The Cut. Niazi leans in to the relatable tone of her popular essays, inviting a generation of working parents to join her as she considers “the possibility of ‘enough’ ”: rejecting an “unending desire for external validation” in favor of “contentment with the life I have, with being comfortable with the ebb and flow of success and achievement.”
Though she mentions the impact of “the fissures in my life—poverty, domestic violence, addiction,” Niazi chooses not to spend much time on those elements, focusing instead on the decision to pursue motherhood and the subsequent tensions between working and parenting that so many face. Through years of fertility treatments and IVF, Niazi wrestles with near-constant uncertainty, asking herself, “Can you miss something you never had?”, “How badly did I want this?” and “Was this really the right time?” Though her story is unique, it is this universal questioning that will ring true to any reader also considering the monumental step into parenting. After finally welcoming her first child, Niazi recognizes just how much her life has changed: “Motherhood cracked me open. There was a distinct before and after. Rather than feeling broken by this split, I felt like a truer version of myself.”
Throughout numerous challenges, Niazi’s belief in herself and in the possibility of a future in writing keeps her afloat, and the authenticity of her desire comes through in her voice, especially as she attempts to reconcile her career goals and her role as a devoted mother. Readers will appreciate her honesty here, just as they did as she first found her audience: “My plaintive cries into the darkness of the world started to resonate with other parents, especially moms, who were screaming somewhere on the other side.” Life After Ambition is perfect for anyone who believes there is more to life than work, more to parenthood than juggling packed calendars and more than enough reasons to be good enough.