First published 2016
Jennifer Weiner opens her life to readers in this debut essay collection. A mother, daughter, sister, former rower, and current cyclist, she transforms personal experiences into stories about contemporary womanhood. Weiner recalls growing up as an outsider in picturesque Connecticut, feeling like a misfit in her hometown and later at her Ivy League college. She discovered her community in Pennsylvania and Philadelphia newsrooms, where she developed her voice as a writer, activist, and New York Times columnist. No topic remains untouched in these intimate essays: relationships, body image, jealousy, finances, her mother's late-life sexuality, and her absent father's passing. Weiner chronicles everything from teenage isolation to motherhood challenges, including the moment her six-year-old daughter first uses the word "fat." The collection reveals the personality behind beloved novels like Good in Bed and Best Friends Forever, showing Weiner's trademark wit and honesty extend beyond fiction into her real experiences as a modern woman.
Genres: family, essays, gender-studies, feminism, autobiography, biography-memoir, 21st-century, journalism
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: memoir, personal-narrative, real-life-experiences
Setting: Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
Period: 21st-century
432 pages · Kindle Edition · Atria Books