Skip to Main Content (Press Enter)
Playing House by Lauren Slater
Add Playing House to bookshelf
Add to Bookshelf

Playing House

Best Seller
Playing House by Lauren Slater
Hardcover $24.95
Nov 05, 2013 | ISBN 9780807001738

Buy from Other Retailers:

See All Formats (2) +
  • $17.00

    Jul 14, 2015 | ISBN 9780807061121

    Buy from Other Retailers:

  • $24.95

    Nov 05, 2013 | ISBN 9780807001738

    Buy from Other Retailers:

  • Nov 05, 2013 | ISBN 9780807001745

    Buy from Other Retailers:

Product Details

Praise

“A fiercely, lyrically honest memoir.” —Kirkus Reviews

“An extraordinary essay collection.. Her sheer bravado and willingness to lay every aspect of her personal life bare is a hallmark of her writing style, and it’s on full display in each of these pieces….A brilliant example of the resonant power of “women’s writing,” Slater’s emotional revelations will strike chords in readers unable to turn away from these difficult but sincere domestic truths. Slater’s candid collection has huge book-group appeal.” —Booklist

“…throughout these 18 essays, most of which map the difficult territory of family, sex, and aging, Slater’s voice is aggressively, even unsettlingly, candid.” —Boston Globe

“Slater weaves together a series of essays demonstrating that even the unprepared and initially unwilling may create a family life that does not go up in flames (except when fire actually does break out, in which case a redemptive moment can be seized). A marked lack of vanity permeates the author’s intensely personal yet universally resonant pieces, which cover everything from the indignities of a makeover to a wrenching decision to have an abortion.” —Library Journal, Best Books of 2013: Memoir

“The beauty of Lauren Slater’s prose is shocking. . . . Slater’s vision is, ultimately, one of unity and possibility.”—Claire Messud, Newsday

“Slater’s own zigzagging from devotion to resentment (and back) gives these essays their power. Who hasn’t felt the competing and incompatible yearnings to be a domestic goddess and at the same time an independent and self-fulfilled individual, free from the endless demands of children?”—Kate Tuttle, The Boston Globe

Table Of Contents

Contents
 
Preface xi
 
1 Tripp Lake 1
2 Going Solo 12
3 Paired 16
4 On Fire 24
5 Uncurling 32
6 My Life as a Father 37
7 Isosceles 46
8 Squared Off 57
9 The Other Mother 65
10 The Suit 82
11 Bilateral 89
12 Zyprexa 96
13 Shame 104
14 Sex: In Three Positions 115
15 Tongue and Groove 130
16 Boneyard 142
17 Dolled Up 156
18 The Mud Is in My Mouth 173


Acknowledgments 189

Looking for More Great Reads?
21 Books You’ve Been Meaning to Read
Back to Top