12 When I was young , I had helped Howard build his company from scratch . I was every bit the corporate powe- rhouse . But once the Hawthorne empire was stable , I stepped back to take care of him and our sons , becom ing a stay - at - home mom for over twenty years . O Now , when people talk about me , they talk with envy . They say I was lucky , that I chose the right husband and gave birth to the right sons . That I won the lottery of life just by getting married . But if I had spent all those years building my own career , I would have won on my own terms . " I want to start my own company , " I said . " I want to show the world that it's never too late for a woman to start over . "