My Home Is Far Away: An Autobiographical Novel

Amazon.com

Dawn Powell was in the midst of writing one of her finest satires, A Time to Be Born, when she contracted a fever that brought childhood memories back so vividly that she stopped her novel and began scrawling reminiscences that were later collected in My Home Is Far Away. Although not true autobiography, the life of the main character, Marcia Willard, parallels Powell's life, including the death of her mother, life with a father who was on the road, and the traumatic remarriage of her father to a vicious and selfish woman. My Home Is Far Away is an excellent depiction of what childcare was like for motherless children in the 19th century in comparison to their family-oriented neighbors.

Book Description

My Home is Far Away is the most precisely autobiographical of Powell’s fifteen novels. In this family chronicle set in early twentieth century Ohio, young Marcia Willard’s family struggles to keep up with the rapidly changing times, and Marcia endures disillusionment, cruelty, and betrayal to forge a survivor’s sense of independence. John Updike has compared Powell with Theodore Dreiser, Willa Cather, Sherwood Anderson, “and those other Midwestern writers who felt something epic in the national shift from rural to urban, from provincial sequestration to metropolitan liberation.” By 1941, when Powell set to work on My Home Is Far Away, she was better known for the smart, boozy, bawdy, hilarious send-ups of Manhattan high and low life. She had begun to attain a reputation for high sophistication and nothing could be less “sophisticated” – in the glittering, all-knowing, furiously present-tense, big-city manner Powell had perfected – than My Home Is Far Away.
This was the month of cherries and peaches, of green apples beyond the grape arbor, of little dandelion ghosts in the grass, of sour grass and four-leaf clovers, of still dry heat holding the smell of nasturtiums and dying lilacs. This was the best month of all and the best day. It was not birthday, Easter, Christmas, or picnic, but all these things and something else, something wonderful, something utterly unknown. The two little girls in embroidered white Sunday dresses knew no way to express their secret joy but by whirling each other dizzily over the lawn crying, “We’re moving, we’re moving! We’re moving to London Junction!”
My Home Is Far Away is one of the very few examples of a book written for adults, with an adult command of the language, that maintains the vantage point of a hungry, serious child throughout. It might be likened to a memoir that has been penned not with the usual tranquility of distance but rather with the sense that everything happening to the characters is happening right now, without any promise of eventual escape, without any assurance that childhood, too, shall pass away.
My Home is Far Away had been out of print for sixty years when Steerforth reissued it in 1995. It received immediate widespread acclaim, and was featured on the cover of the New York Times Book Review, where Terry Teachout called it “one of the permanent masterpieces of childhood, comparable with David Copperfield, What Maisie Knew and the early reminiscences of Colette,” and where he proclaimed Powell to be “one of this country’s least recognized great novelists.”

Customer Reviews:

Very Memorable Autobiography That Touched Me in a Very Personal Way.......2006-07-24

This is one of my favorite books that I have ever read. Some of the charm it held for me may be that it describes life in towns in the North part of Ohio, and I grew up in Toledo, Ohio. Powell's narrative of events and places made me feel like I could imagine my own ancestors experiences in this part of the country. I think that the times were the times of my grandparents, and great grandparents.

The telling of the sequence of events showed the differences between daily life of the late 1800s-early 1900s and our own time in a way that changed my consciousness of those times, so near, so different, and so expository of the attitudes and personalities of my own grandparents. There is a lot of hardship, by today's standards, but it seemed to be taken as a matter of course in the times.

The personalities and foibles, concerns and coping mechanisms of the characters, at the same time, were so recognizable in the people and lives I know today. Dawn Powell's story, and Dawn Powell's way of telling her story, have stayed with me for many years after having read the book.

ORDER THIS BOOK AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.......2003-07-13

I finished reading this in one day -- that's how gripping I found it. It's literary in the way that F. Scott Fitzgerald and Willa Cather are literary -- the diction and syntax are polished, the setting is captured with precise details, but the plot comes through clearly -- and it's hard to put this down once you start to read it. This is my first Dawn Powell novel, but I intend to read all of her works after this amazing introduction.

Coming of Age in Rural Ohio.......2003-02-22

Dawn Powell (1896 -1965) wrote novels about her youth in small town Ohio at the turn of the century and about New York City, where she spent most of her adult life. In general, Powell wrote the New York City novels, such as "Turn Magic Wheel", and "The Locusts Have no King" later in her career. They tend to be sharp satires. Her earlier Ohio novels, such as "Dance Night" and "Come Back to Sorrento", are marked, I think, by a depiction of small town life which is critical and bittersweet, as well as somewhat satirical, and by a restlessness and sense of frustration, ...

Powell worked for three years on "My Home is Far Away" which was published in 1944. She had difficulty with the book, writing and rewriting the various scenes as she tried to fictionalize her biography and turn it into a novel. The book appears in the midst of her New York novels, and it is a throwback in to her earlier books with its setting in Ohio, its focus on childhood, and its bittersweet tone. Powell intended this novel as the first of a three-part trilogy, but the other two volumes never materialized.

Most of Powell's novels seem to me distinctly autobiographical in tone and "My Home is Far away" is particularly so. It tells the story of a family, focusing on three young sisters, Lena, Marcia, and Florrie, their father Harry, their mother Daisy, and, after Daisy's death, their stepmother Idah. There are basiclly three parts to the story: the period leading to the death of Daisy, and intervening period in which the three girls are raised by their father and assorted other relatives, and a the period after their father remarries and the girls are subjected to a cruel stepmother. When they find they can no longer take the abuse, they leave home and come into their own lives.

The title of the novel, "My Home is Far Away" derives from an Irish song that the girls sing with their mother. The title well captures some of the rootlesness of the family as they move from here to there. It also evokes well the longing for a home life and for a stability which the family, and Dawn Powell, never had.

One of the problems with this book is diffentiating the characters of three young girls. On the whole, this is handled effectively. The Dawn Powell character is the middle sister, Marcia, who is plain but highly precocious. The older girl, Lena, is much more sociable and outgoing.

The family moved a great deal from one small Ohio town to another and to different places within various towns. The most effective scenes in the book for me were the pictures of many dingy, run-down hotels and small town back streets during which the girls spent much of their childhood. The father, Harry, was a travelling salesman who, for most of the book, has difficulty holding a job and spending time with his family. He professes to love his family, but doesn't provide well. He spends his time and money hanging around with his friends and, apparently, with women in various towns.

One key moment in the book occurs rather early in it when the girls' mother dies. This scene is beautifully told. Then we see Harry trying to shunt the girls off to various relatives until he finally attempts to care for them himself. The marriage to Idah brings Harry some stability, but at a terrible cost. Idah is a shrewish, jealous stepmother. The two older girls both leave home to get away from her.

This book has some slow moments, but it is a wonderful coming-of-age novel and gives a good picture of the rural midwest. It is good that Dawn Powell's novels are in print and readily accessible. It is intriguing to think how she might have proceeded in the remaining two projected volumes of her autobiographical trilogy.

Triumph!.......2002-06-02

Dawn Powell was no whiner- and as this highly autobiographical novel attests, she had plenty of reason to complain! The story of her turn of the century Ohio childhood, is told through the viewpoint of Marcia, the gifted, plain, middle child of three motherless sisters. Despite a neglectful, absent and grandiose father, ( a child himself,) and a host of inadequate relatives, the girls are largely delighted with their world, which by modern standards is one of poverty and neglect. The book is an object lesson in attitudes and expectations that become reality.
This was an era that discouraged pity, and would have been dumbfounded by modern 'confessional' trends. The attitudes toward children, would be barbaric today. The girls remained loyal to their father, even as they grew to understand his weaknesses, and they found delight in characters that would be considered dangerous and forbidden today. Their own grandmother, refusing to attend to fire safety, managed to burn down four houses, including her own, from which weeks before the girls had just been removed. This is a story of a triumph of childhood with nothing of the tone of the adult looking back in a lament. In some ways, it is similar to "Angela's Ashes," another horrible experience of childhood, that uniquely avoids the subject of depression and rage. This even holds true for the archetypical wicked stepmother, an unrelenting, hateful woman who sadistically confiscated or forbade any object or activity of pleasure.
The most amazing part of Marcia, is this 'game' she played, when she was in the midst of an ordeal. She could reach down inside of herself and become the person who was devoid of reactions to the current stress and be completely strong and capable of enduring the trauma through to the end. It is a testimony, spoken by a child, of the human spirit, and the infinite manifestations and sources of power by which mankind survives. I will definitely read this book again, for its fresh outlook and restrained economy.

Beautiful and poignant.......2001-10-11

I have only recently begun to hear about the little-known American author Dawn Powell, and this is the first of her novels that I have read. It is so hard to believe that Ms. Powell's work has been largely ignored for decades--she writes so beautifully, with wit and pathos in equal measures. Dawn Powell's passion for writing comes through on every page, her characters lively and real, their adventures and personalities engaging, and her descriptions of turn-of-the-century Ohio vivid. She captures the points of view and imaginations of her child protagonists (the three sisters, who are central to the story) with complete accuracy--I found myself smiling in recognition at what it was like to think like a child again. And what's more, this is largely a true story--based on Dawn Powell's own sad childhood, when she lost her mother and gained an abusive stepmother (and seemed to be mainly neglected by her ineffectual father). All in all, a moving and enthralling story--the main character reminded me of Little Women's Jo as well as Jane Eyre, at times. Highly recommended.

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A Must for Working Women

Highly valuable book, even if you're not a self-help type

Enjoyed, learned but read it all with a grain of salt!

People Pleasing is not the way to go

Not for "Every Working Woman"
Why Good Girls Don't Get Ahead... But Gutsy Girls Do: Nine Secrets Every Working Woman Must Know
Kate White
Manufacturer: Grand Central Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Customer Reviews:

A Must for Working Women.......2006-12-03

This book is great. It focuses on what women do in the workplace that underminds thier career. It also talks about how you should act. It's a great book for women working in a corperate jungle. It's a little hard to read at times, and she focuses on her life experiences in the magazine industry. Therefore, some of the things she talks about don't relate well to my field. I'm sure reading this book will help me in my career.

Highly valuable book, even if you're not a self-help type.......2006-10-05

I was just out of college when my friend's mother gave me this book. My friend and I rolled our eyes - we were *definitely* not self-help-book readers. I still am not. But many times over the past ten years I have referenced this book in conversations with friends. I have found myself applying many of the tips that Ms. White provides. You don't have to be a hyper-ambitious, ladder-climbing corporate professional to get something out of this book. Among the tenets that have stood out to me over the years are:

-Don't always need to be liked
-Don't smile too easily
-Don't apologize too quickly
-Don't clean up after other colleagues (especially men)
-Don't be a perfectionist at the expense of innovative thinking or getting things done

Simply the notion that men and women (in broad strokes, at least) behave differently and are treated differently in the workplace was a novel idea to me, coming out of a liberal arts college during the mid-1990s. Reading this book gave me an awareness that everyone needs. Obviously, no one book will apply perfectly to each of us, so you can't go looking for that. But do look to this book for many useful ways of seeing the professional world and your own role in it.

Enjoyed, learned but read it all with a grain of salt!.......2006-06-10

I have never believed, or wanted to believe, in the feminist views of the world. I like to believe that if we focus on results, deliverables, and excellent performance and good merit, we will indeed get ahead - man or woman - in corporate america. Reading this book however did have certain advice in handling some situations that only arise for women in the workplace. Not every bit of advice or circumstance applies to all of us, but overall, this was a very good read, I took bits and pieces of advice from Kate and really did enjoy her stories and her candid sharing of the experience she had been through. I really do recommend it to everyone - not just women. It's good to be aware of our ingrained beliefs and learn to let go of them and face life with a much more open mind.

People Pleasing is not the way to go.......2006-06-01

This is the golden advice: people pleasing is distinct from delivering credible results. In the world of world it is being respected that wins the day. Being liked is a matter of fickleness and not based on results. Results that are measured are all that matters.

Not for "Every Working Woman".......2006-05-24

This book applies to women who are in leadership positions, which I am not, so I despise the title "Nine Secrets Every Working Woman Must Know". It's misleading. I'm currently reading this book and have only found a small paragraph that applies to "every working woman." Given the title, I thought the book would give helpful tips on getting ahead for the average working woman, but it doesn't. Needless to say, it didn't do me much good for where I am currently in my career.

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Lighthearted and Fun Reading
Super-sexy and super-fun. Don't miss this one!
Sexy - Steamy - Rocking - Chick-Lit !
Fun and Sexy Contemporary Romance!
amusing contemporary romance

Good Girls Don't (Warner Forever)
Kelley St. John
Manufacturer: Forever
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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philosophy hope in a jar daily moisturizer

ASIN: 0446617202

Book Description

In high school, Bill Brannon was head over heels for his childhood friend Lettie Campbell. Twelve years later, Bill has almost forgotten his crush on the wild and feisty Lettie. Almost. But when fate reunites them, he realizes that some opportunities shouldn't be missed. Lettie Campbell wants to start her own business--designing lingerie. Her dream is going to become a reality with the cash she's bringing in as a cheating consultant at My Alibi, a company that lies for cheaters 24/7. When her sister, Amy, asks her to help a friend by providing an alibi, Lettie agrees. Lying to strangers is easy. But lying to the friend you've had since fifth grade is hard.As the lies pile up and Lettie and Bill burn up the sheets, she will have to come clean. Because the person she's lying to is Bill--and no amount of lies will help her when he discovers he's been conned.

Customer Reviews:

Lighthearted and Fun Reading.......2006-03-22

When you're ready to set aside your heavier hitting romances, the ones that make you weep and pound your fists in frustration for the characters, books like this one are a good one to pick up. "Good Girls Don't" by Kelley St. John is a fast paced and funny delight to read, full of characters that grab your attention. You just want to continue reading to see where their individual situations take them. While I did think the main plot was a little weak, I still enjoyed this light hearted romp of a read.

Colette Campbell, or Lettie as she's known to friends, is ready for a change of scene, at least in her professional world. Working for a company in Atlanta, GA that provides alibis to cheating spouses, vacationing grandparents needing a break from the kids, etc., she's more than ready to pursue her dream job. She's tired of the lies and deceptions and it's beginning to wear on her. When her sister, Amy, asks Lettie to engineer one more lie, this one for a close friend that needs to get away from her guardian for a week of R&R with her tue love, Lettie is annoyed, but wants to make her sister happy. Unfortunately the guardian in question is an old high school friend, one that Lettie did not part with on good terms. Bill Brannon is startled to recognize (over the phone) the woman he never could forget. He's wanted more from the vivacious teenager in high school, and he still wants more to this day. Thinking she lives elsewhere, he convinces Lettie to see him while she "visits" Atlanta. As the two rekindle an old friendship, one that steadily progresses into a flaming torch, will Lettie's lies put a damper on their delicate relationship?

My one problem with this book was the main plot: Supposed "good" girl, Lettie Cambell, lying to her man about her profession, the wereabouts of his niece, etc. It was just a little weak since it was so obvious that she and Bill care so much for one another. Sure, readers will know before ever picking up the book that they will get together, so that's why I felt that a little better conflict between the two would have earned this read five stars. Other than that, I really enjoyed Bill and Lettie's relationship. Bill is such a down-to-eath type that thinks he needs to act the part of "bad boy" in order to win Lettie, while Lettie herself was actually a very sincere and caring individual despite a job that made her seem otherwise. Besides, can you really knock a girl who's saving up to start her own dream business? Lettie's sister Amy, in my opinion, was the true gem of this book. She's into her own dream job in the sex toy industry, which added some really great and fun moments into the story. My only wish for her was that she'd had her own book in which to expand on her character. She was so much fun, but alas, I think too much was revealed about her here to warrant her own book. Bill's niece, Erika, is also an interesting character, kind of a coming of age young woman who makes her first steps into the world of love. So, if you're looking for a good, light read to while away the hours between the heavier romances, give this one a try. Many laugh-out-loud opportunities and interesting characters make it a winner.

Super-sexy and super-fun. Don't miss this one!.......2006-01-10

Colette (Lettie) Campbell can hardly believe it when her job at My Alibi leads her to call Bill Brannon, the guy who was her best friend in high school but who pushed for turning the relationship in a romantic direction as she was getting ready to move away from home. Now Bill still wants more, and Lettie is willing to give it to him. There is one slight problem--as part of the My Alibi job, she's had to lie to him about where she lives, what she does, and about where his niece is staying. Lettie knows this isn't the perfect way to start, or re-start a relationship, but Bill is even more of a hunk than she remembered and the sex definitely sets off fireworks like Lettie hasn't known since--well, since forever. Still that lying thing, Lettie just knows it's going to come back and bite her.

Meanwhile, Lettie's sister, Amy, a sex-toy designer, has been trying to stay clear of co-worker Landon Brooks. Amy has persuaded herself that toys are better than men, but Landon has other ideas. Of course, Amy has some pretty convincing toys--but Landon can do some convincing of his own.

In her debut novel, author Kelley St. John delivers a super-sexy and super-funny charmer of a story. Lettie and Amy support each other totally as they explore the wild side, and also fantasize about relationships that just might be a bit more than wild. Add in a fun co-worker who just needs to meet the man who melts vibrators and you've got a great cast of characters. St. John takes the reader on a Wheelie ride of emotion--from laugh-out-loud to that little choke in your throat, and then back to laughing.

If you're looking for a sexy and fun read (and who isn't?) GOOD GIRLS DON'T is just what you need.

Sexy - Steamy - Rocking - Chick-Lit !.......2005-12-05

For all you chick-lit fans out there, heads up! There's a new kid on the block and she totally rocks with her very sexy debut novel that also gives a whole lot of heart - GOOD GIRLS DON'T!

Colette Campbell's dream was to own her own lingerie boutique, but in the meantime she works for `My Alibi', a company that lies for cheaters. Life just got complicated when her sister Amy, a sex toy designer, brings Colette an 18 year old client who just wants a week alone with her boyfriend without her guardian uncle knowing about it. Even worse, the uncle turns out to be Bill Brannon, Colette's very best and only friend from her school days. Colette hates lying to Bill and shouldn't compromise a client but as their reunion heats up to a truly `smoking' no holds barred level the only obstacle between them and happily ever after would be those alibi's!

Original, fast-paced, sexy and sassy are but a few adjectives to describe this very full and robust chick-lit debut. As a bonus, you'll also enjoy the sexy love story between Amy and her sex-toy colleague. The dialogs are outrageously funny, especially the one that Bill got an earful of when Colette forgot to turn off her cell phone. Most fans of the sexy chick-lit romance genre are sure to find this a very amusing and extremely pleasing read! Highly recommended!

Marilyn, [...]

Fun and Sexy Contemporary Romance!.......2005-12-02

When Lettie Campbell agrees to do her sister a favor and take her sister's friend on as a client, she never expects that Erika's uncle was her best friend in high school. Lettie lies for a living. Her job at My Alibi, which she hates, is to provide people with alibi's when they are really supposed to be somewhere else. So, when her client Erika wants to get away with the boyfriend that she knows her uncle doesn't approve of, Lettie provides her alibi. But once she discovers that it's Bill she's lying to, things become very complicated.

Lettie and Bill haven't seen each other since high school, but once they meet again sparks fly and they find themselves falling in love. Lettie knows she has to tell Bill the truth, but she's given Erika her word. Can Lettie convince Erika to confess before Bill finds out the truth some other way?

Good Girl's Don't is the first time I've had the pleasure of reading Kelley St. John, but it definitely won't be the last. Lettie and Bill have chemistry from the moment they meet again. They also have an emotional connection that is endangered by the lies that Lettie sees no way out of, and which seem to snowball onward. Lettie desperately wants Erika to tell Bill the truth, especially as she falls more and more in love with him. Plus there is a secondary romance for Lettie's sister Amy that is not to be missed. A must-have, Good Girls Don't is a fun and sexy contemporary romance I highly recommend!

Melissa
Reviewed For Joyfully Reviewed

amusing contemporary romance .......2005-11-30

Following her high school graduation twelve years ago Collette "Lettie" Campbell left Sheldon, Georgia to escape a terrible home life while dreaming of becoming a designer in Atlanta. Her only regret was leaving her younger sister Amy behind, but her sibling now lives with her in Atlanta. Amy asks Collette to do her a favor by covering up the actions of her eighteen year old friend Erika. Reluctantly Collette agrees as she is a "cheating consultant" at My Alibi. She makes the call informing Erika's Uncle Bill that his niece is in Tampa attending a training session when the teen is with her boyfriend on Tybee Island. To Collette's shock Bill turns out to be her best friend back in Sheldon Bill Brannon who wanted them to become her boyfriend, but she said no.

Bill and Lettie go on a date that leads to so much more as she begins to fall in love with her best childhood friend while he knows he has loved her since fifth grade. However, Lettie also knows she told Bill several lies starting with Erika and believes once he learns her lies he will reject her, but also realizes she owes him truth.

GOOD GIRLS DON'T is an amusing contemporary romance with a partial second chance at love at least on the part of the male lead. The story line is character driven from the zany sex toys invented by Amy to Lettie's struggles between telling the truth to the man she loves and client privilege. Though some readers will wonder why Bill never used the Internet to look up the woman he loves, fans will appreciate this fun tale that hits the right G note.

Harriet Klausner

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Insightful!
This Book

Why Good Girls Don't Get Ahead
Kate White
Manufacturer: Century
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0712661417

Customer Reviews:

Insightful!.......2002-03-21

Ideas and messages spread through human communities in the same way that viruses jump from person to person and group to group. This premise - that social trends saturate populations like contagious epidemics - is an intriguing foundation for a book, and indeed, Malcolm Gladwell's examination of the theme is at times a fascinating read. The book is at its best when applying the epidemic theory to marketing by attempting to identify the key individuals that help transmit a trend, or for that matter, a disease. However, Gladwell never quite succeeds in knitting these observations into a cogent and coherent argument. The book reads like a set of notes - some of which come off as unnecessary digressions. But on the basis of those sections that truly illuminate the cycle of trend dissemination, we from getAbstract recommend this book to marketing, advertising and promotional executives.

This Book.......2000-09-16

This changed my life, as cliche as that sounds, it did. Kate White lays out lots of common sense and things I 'knew,' but never put together before. A friend gave me this book when I worked for a boss just like Richard (Machiabelly)from Survivor. I learned to respect myself, prioritize, make a plan and forge ahead. Old habits of self-sabatogue fell away as I started to make my own rules and follow them. I have just been tapped by a woman acquaintance to be on her graduate shcool committee, and I am buying her a copy of this!

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Wanted: More information about Lara Cardella !
the author
The awful burden of being a good girl

Good Girls Don't Wear Trousers
Lara Cardella
Manufacturer: Arcade Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 155970263X

Customer Reviews:

Wanted: More information about Lara Cardella !.......2003-06-20

The author points out the situation of gender roles in Sicily. I liked "Good girls don't wear trousers" very much though I did not like the film which was quite different from the book. The novel deals with a serious topic while the film is more or less a kind of comedy. I can also recommend the books that the author wrote after the enormous success of "Volevo i pantaloni", especially "Una ragazza normale" or "Fedra se ne va" which can be probably considered the more mature ones . As I am studying Italian I am actually writing my dissertation about the author. Therefore, I would like to get in touch with Lara and I would be very grateful to receive any information how I could reach her. Thank you very much in advance!

the author.......2003-02-23

only one word for all of you:thanks.Love.Lara

The awful burden of being a good girl.......2001-11-22

In some ways this book is similar to "Like Water for Chocolate" in its account of the burden of hypocrisy and double standards that girls and women have to bear in some societies.

Cardella writes of sexual suspicion, fears and jealousy; but any astute reader will be able to draw chilling comparisons from almost every venue in life. Even in the US, some women still carry this burden inflicted by jealous husbands or boyfriends. This book is a poignant reminder that it should not be so, and every woman deserves to be trusted.

For Anetta, trousers symbolized freedom and independence. Suffice to say, in her Sicilian world, she never got to wear them; but, she grew up surrounded by lascivious relatives whose chronic suspicion and hypocrisy turned her life into a nightmare. Trousers were a sin, but the uncle who slid his hand up her skirt when she was 10 was an embarrassment never to be countered or spoken about.

In our society, we know it as Victorian morality. Boys and men were expected "to sow their wild oats," but the girls with whom they had their fun were beneath the notice of polite company. It's the ultimate repression for women; nothing they say is believable, everything they say is grounds for suspicion, doubt and recrimination.

Cardella does not portray a happy society; instead, she tells how the perennial fear of what a girl might do if left unguarded generates suspicion, which drives at least some to the sins they've of which they are accused, generating further suspicion and fear. Jealousy is a self-perpetuating bitter fear that destroys those who succumb to its fever; it harms everyone it touches.

The tragedy is that it can be triggered by a girl's laugh, prompting suspicions of "Why is she happy and I'm not ?" or the unspoken fear "Why does he make her happy and not me ?" The fact women have a right to be happy, without generating irrational male fears, generated a storm of controversy in Italy. In response, Cardella was banned from her hometown because of this book.

In Europe, where women are often still treated as objects of desire instead of people capable of having their own desires, it has sold two million copies. Obviously, it's found a sympathetic audience among people who need this reminder of the injustices sometimes inflicted upon half of the population.

In North America, it's a vivid reminder of chauvinist attitudes that until the so-called "sexual revolution" were used to intimidate and oppress women. There are still far too many obstacles which limit opportunities for women, but this brief book is a fascinating reminder of just how far along the road to equality we've come in 50 years.

Women make up at least 50 percent of the potential talent of modern society; this story of the iron shackles of prejudice, suspicion and jealousy hammered onto women in many societies helps explain why some regions are perpetually poor. It's hardly an accident that Annetta's most liberated friend is the daughter of an engineer from northern Italy; by the same token, before the book ends, she points out that wealth doesn't assure virtue or compassion.

Book Description

In the tradition of The Beauty Myth, Fat Is a Feminist Issue and Feeding the Hungry Heart, this breakthrough book is both a fascinating look at the conflicts between the two greatest human desires--food and sex--and a practical self-help book for every woman who has ever worried about sex or about being fat.

Customer Reviews:

Great choice for anyone who struggles with their body image!.......1999-01-17

This book is a step-by-step analysis of why women in the Western world today have such poor body images. It's focus is on women's love-hate relationship with food and sex and how this translates into body-loathing. Though the references are somewhat dated (many are from the mid-eighties), it is well-researched, well-thought out,and well-worth reading. In addition, it concludes by offering *realistic* approaches to regaining more self-confidence for yourself and your body. Hate your body? Feel guilty when you eat? Read this book!

Good Girls Don't Eat Dessert: Women's Conflicts About Eating and Sexuality

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Good Girls Don't Eat Dessert: Women's Conflicts About Eating and Sexuality
Rosalyn M. Meadow , and Lillie Weiss
Manufacturer: Random House Value Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Women's Studies | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0517315815
Release Date: 1998-05-31

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Good girls don't get murdered
Percy Spurlark Parker
Manufacturer: Scribner
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: 0684139073

Set of 2 Books - Girl Talk: Staying Strong, Feeling Good, Sticking Together; The Period Book: Everything You Don't Want to Ask (But Need to Know)

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Set of 2 Books - Girl Talk: Staying Strong, Feeling Good, Sticking Together; The Period Book: Everything You Don't Want to Ask (But Need to Know)
Judith Harlan , Karen Gravelle , and Jennifer Gravelle
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000WBJLO8

Product Description

Set of 2 Books - Girl Talk: Staying Strong, Feeling Good, Sticking Together; The Period Book: Everything You Don't Want to Ask (But Need to Know).

Why Good Girls Don`t Get Ahead But Gutsy Girls Do

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Why Good Girls Don`t Get Ahead But Gutsy Girls Do
Kate White
Manufacturer: Warner Books, NY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000K8ZHZA

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