In 1963, Friedan published "The Feminine Mystique" after interviewing women around the US for five years. In the book, she found that women felt unfulfilled in their roles as mothers and wives. The book became an instant bestseller, sparking a new wave of women's rights battles and launching Friedan as a leader in the movement.
"Each suburban wife struggles with it alone," Friedan wrote in the book. "As she made the beds, shopped for groceries, matched slipcover material, ate peanut butter sandwiches with her children, chauffeured Cub Scouts and Brownies, lay beside her husband at night — she was afraid to ask even of herself the silent question — 'Is this all?'"
Three years later, she helped found the National Organization for Women and became its president. The organization mainly fought for equal employment for men and women.
Friedan continued fighting for women's rights throughout the liberation movement and into the '70s.