婚后不久，我和丈夫埃里克(Eric)带着孩子们搬进了新家。从这个时候起，我们得尝试着让两家人和谐相处。
Newly married, my husband, Eric, and I moved to a new home with our kids. Now we would start trying to blend our families.
开始的时候只能用一个乱字来形容。家务事本来就做不完，何况还要照管四个不到八岁的孩子，各种细枝末节的事情没完没了。（有两个孩子是我们各自在之前婚姻中所生的，另两个是我们俩婚后生的。）同时，我刚刚开始做一份在家里撰写诉讼案情摘要的全职工作，又要赶写一篇历史学博士论文。总之我得一连几天都被拴在家里，跟孩子们在一起，而他们又不断吵吵囔囔，让我心烦意乱。
From the beginning, it was total chaos. There were endless chores, to say nothing of the logistics of caring for four kids under 8 (two from our previous marriages and two we'd had together). At the same time, I had just started a new full-time job writing legal briefs from home, and I was trying to finish a dissertation for my Ph.D. in history. All of which meant that I was trapped inside for days at a time with my kids, whose constant bickering was driving me nuts.
跟其他无数的现代母亲一样，我想通过吼叫、唠叨来改变他们。不用多说，这样做反让他们更不听话。有一次，在经历了特别难熬的一天之后，我拖着沉重的步伐走进我的居家办公室。我筋疲力尽，不想工作，于是就坐在桌子边，盯着布满灰尘的书架。就在这个时候，我看到了一本旧书：《君主论》(The Prince)。
Like millions of other modern moms, I tried to change them by yelling and nagging. This, of course, only made their behavior worse. After one especially trying day, I stomped off to my home office. Too exhausted to work, I sat at my desk and stared at a dusty shelf of books. And there I saw it: an old copy of 'The Prince.'
我把它从书架上抽出来，研究了一下封面。那是尼科洛•马基雅维利(Niccolo Machiavelli)的一幅肖像。他坚定的目标谦和地望着我，薄薄的嘴唇漾起一个淡淡的、会心的笑容，他的站姿有力而又自信──这一切都是当时的我所没有的。
Pulling it from the shelf, I studied its cover
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