Liao challenged the inequalities between men and women in Seedlings in 1982, and the following year her award-winning No Road Home tackled the issue of marital infidelity in even more frank terms. Why, it asked, would a highly educated and skilled modern woman be willing to be the mistress of a married man--especially when that man's a failure in his career and is irresponsible?
繼 1982 年挑戰男女地位不平權的成名作《油蔴菜籽》後，隔年廖輝英獲聯合報獎項的《不歸路》，更直接將介入婚姻的「第三者」問題搬上檯面：一個受過高等教育、學有專長的現代女性，為何甘心做人家的情婦？尤其選擇的又是個事業失敗、沒有擔當的男人？