Today, Kefalas is a sociology professor at Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia and director of the university's Richard Johnson Center for Anti-Violence. Her schedule allows her to spend her precious time with her family, something she might have given up if she had pursued that promotion.

She said she believes the "dramatic and tragic" story of why she "had to stop moving up the academic ladder" speaks to the real world obstacles that working mothers face all the time.

That's something that Kefalas said Sandberg's good fortune and financial resources have allowed her to escape.

"All mothers have to make choices and we're judged differently," she said. "The choices for working mothers are more costly than it is for men.

"And until that changes, you'll having women opting out."

'Lean in' or 'wise up'?

Sandberg's mission is to help create more female business leaders like herself. She believes women can do that by taking charge of their careers, to "lean in" rather than "pull back" when facing obstacles, she wrote in her book, which will be released on Monday.

"Women rarely make one big decision to leave the workforce. Instead, they make a lot of small decisions along the way," Sandberg wrote, according to a book excerpt on Time.com. "A law associate might decide not to shoot for partner because someday she hopes to have a family. A sales rep might take a smaller territory or not apply for a management role. A teacher might pass on leading curriculum development for her school.

"Often without even realizing it, women stop reaching for new opportunities."

That, she said, has resulted in what she calls a stalled revolution for all women.