The Women Have it!

By: Amy Lignor (one of Feathered Quill's reviewers)

Guy writers are just fine, ladies, but some new authors have spun on to the scene in the past few months that are quickly making a name for themselves. I wanted to tell you all about one. Her name is Amy Ferris, and she's the author of the fantastic book, Marrying George Clooney: Confessions from a Midlife Crisis. It IS all in the delivery. That's how I feel about this absolutely outrageously perfect book. Yes, I said perfect. Because the beauty of each and every chapter is literally in the imperfections that life throws at us every day. Is a midlife crisis a mixture of tears, humor, pain, and hilarity? You bet it is. At least, it is through this author's eyes.

Erma Bombeck, I still believe, did this best. She told the truth. Not since the death of Ms. Bombeck have I read an author who could literally "nail it"...until now. In this fantastic book, Ms. Ferris offers up, without apology, everything she feels, sees, and does during this most frustrating part of a woman's life. Yes, the inevitable Menopause. The writing is raw and sweet, as she delights the reader with paragraph after paragraph detailing her 3:00 AM experiences. I haven't gone through Menopause yet, but I, too, have wavered between jumping off a bridge in order to end all the stupidity surrounding me, or pushing someone I love in front of a car. With every troubling thought that rushes through the female mind, the most frequent conclusion that we arrive at is that someone's life has to end.

I want to share a couple of revelations that hit me right between the eyes. The author wrote that it was her obligation and responsibility to acknowledge and hold dear the privilege of her own life. I have to say...Bingo! Yahtzee! She called 'Midlife' a reinvention of the wheel. And I learned a great deal. So much so, that I will keep this book on my bedside table when 'Midlife' hits, so I can always know that someone else once felt as bad as I will.

The author talks about her father, who died far too soon. That, unfortunately, is something I do share with her. She also speaks volumes in very small paragraphs about her mother - a wonderfully brilliant woman who, unfortunately, didn't really like kids but had them anyway - who is now suffering from Alzheimer's. This, thankfully, is something I do not share with the author. But her words brought tears to my eyes when she wrote candidly about the regret and resentment that beam from her mother's eyes. She also asked a question that really struck home for me...How do you retire from writing? Can you just log off one day and say "I'm done?" I hope not. Without that release - the freedom of imagination - I think I'd cash it all in and call it a day. Even though the author admits to having writers block for four years, she still continued on and has produced a sweet, satisfying, hysterical book.

I want to do this author and this book justice. So I'm going to do something she asks in her pages. Early on in the book, Ms. Ferris writes that she wants readers to find their view...tell their story. So...I will. And I'm going to pick one of my favorites that comes from motherhood: One day the television was on. My daughter was about five years old at the time. A commercial came on and, unbeknownst to me, my child found the ad fascinating. After it was over, she ran into the kitchen and asked me what reptile dysfunction was? I responded as fast as my poor, tired brain could..."Well, honey, it's an alligator with a limp."

I would love all of you out there to comment on this post and tell me and Feathered Quill a story that is absolutely hysterical from your real life. Share with us. God knows...we ALL need some humor nowadays.

The latest news on this book is that it will be coming to the Off-Broadway CAP21 Theatre in the fall. If you live in New York (I despise you). I mean...you're extremely lucky. Go see this and send me a ticket stub or program so I can drool (and hate you even more) :)