Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism

by Sarah Wynn-Williams

In January 2014, I’m in a meeting with an all-male lineup of Facebook law enforcement experts when my water breaks. I Uber to the hospital and things get underway pretty fast. I get a message. Sheryl’s about to unexpectedly go into a meeting with the president of Brazil at Davos and she wants talking points. I’m in the delivery room, my feet in stirrups, in labor. I put down my phone and reach for my laptop. I start drafting. “What are you doing?” Tom asks. “Just getting Sheryl some talking points.” “Sarah, no.” I continue typing. He appeals to my doctor, a person he knows I deeply respect: “Dr. Veca, make this stop.” “Two more minutes,” I say, between contractions. Trying not to think of Lean In’s direction: don’t leave before you leave. Dr. Veca reaches over and gently closes my laptop. She says, “It’s a very special thing to give birth to your first child. I don’t think you should be working through it. Sheryl will understand.”