Getting undressed for the dreaded seventh-grade gym class. Feeling fascinated with, yet disgusted by, the fashion magazines full of perfect, unattainable bodies. Enduring the pain of a bikini wax or
Whether it's surfer Jamilah Star riding an unprecedented fifty-foot wave, Olympic marathoner Deena Kastor winning the bronze in 2004, or top-ranked climber Lynn Hill facing down a tough climb at Josh
There is nothing quite like hitting the road by yourself to awaken your senses, sharpen your mind, and build your confidence. In twenty-three beautifully crafted essays, women recount the thrills of
Are single women happy individualists? Neurotic man-hunters? Crazed cat ladies? Are they confused, or content? Bitter, or better off? No one seems to know. The popular media gives us shoe shopaholics
Part diva, part purring furball, cats always keep you wondering. Are they happy to see you? Mad at the world? Cats are subtle little comics, rubbing against your legs when you'd forgotten they were i
The debate about women and torture has, until recently, focused on women as victims of violence. But when photographs were released from the Abu Ghraib prisoner-abuse scandal, one featured Lynndie Eng
Greece, it has been said, is where art became inseparable from life. The country evokes a richly embroidered tapestry of images, from old monuments rife with history to idyllic isles of glass-blue se
Dawn Dais hated running. And it didn't like her much, either. Her fitness routine consisted of avoiding the stairs in her own house, because who really has the energy to climb stairs? It was with thi
When twenty-eight-year-old Maliha Masood, a burned-out dot-commer from Seattle, bought a one-way ticket to adventure and rejuvenation, she found it in the most unlikely of places: the Middle East.Wit
As a child of the 1980s, Alicia Rebensdorf was raised by TV and movies. But when she, like so many of her generation, found herself a bored twentysomething, waitressing and wondering why life wasn't a
Helen Boyd's husband is considering becoming a woman, a choice that would alter both of their lives forever. But in what ways? She's Not the Man I Married is Boyd's intimate and thoughtful exploratio
Linda Furiya's girlhood in the small Indiana farm community where she grew up was marked by her differences: She was the only Asian in her school, the only girl whose mother packed rice balls and cho
Nobody Passes is a collection of essays that confronts and challenges the very notion of belonging. By examining the perilous intersections of identity, categorization, and community, contributors ch
While the death of a parent is always painful, losing both is life-altering. When author Allison Gilbert lost both parents at age 32, she could not find any books that spoke to her with the same leve
Barbara Sjoholm arrived in London in the winter of 1970 at the age of twenty. Like countless young Americans in that tumultuous time, she wanted to escape a country at war and set out for Europe, wher
We Don’t Need Another Wave is a critique of the ways in which feminism is discussed in the mainstream media. Today’s young feminists are wary of being labeled. They are media-savvy, hyper
She’s Such a Geek is a groundbreaking anthology that celebrates women who have flourished in the male-dominated realms of technical and cultural arcana. Editors Annalee Newitz and Charlie Ander
At eight years old, Bettina Aptheker watched her family's politics play out in countless living rooms across the country when her father, historian and U.S. Communist Party leader Herbert Aptheker, te
Indecent is not your average I-stripped-my-way-through-college memoir. Sarah Katherine Lewis is a veteran of the sex industry who started small — doing lingerie modeling and striptease shows &#
With one out of eleven high school students in the past year experiencing some form of physical abuse — being hit, slapped, or physically hurt on purpose by a boyfriend or girlfriend — yo
In 2004, Erin Solaro went to Iraq to study American servicewomen — what they were doing, how well they were doing it, how they were faring in combat. In 2005, she went to Afghanistan on the sam
Women run for all kinds of reasons. We run for health, to ease tension, for strength, to challenge ourselves, to be social with friends, as professional athletes or the dream of being one, to turn ou
The most popular question any pregnant woman is asked — aside from "When are you due?" — has got to be "Are you having a girl or a boy?" When author Andrea Buchanan was pregnant with her
They may be known as man's best friend, but as the writers in this poignant, funny, and dramatic collection know, there's no gender divide when it comes to canines. Whether walking down the street, g
“To raise a child while living with cancer is to have your heart break. We have to learn how to live with broken hearts.” So says one of the mothers interviewed in this powerful, inspirat
As the Western world struggles to comprehend the paradoxes of modern Turkey, a country both European and Asian, forward-looking yet rooted in ancient empire, Tales from the Expat Harem reveals its mo
With a recent burst of feature films, documentaries, and books on strippers, the business of exotic dancing is hotter than ever. Over the last decade there has been a steadily expanding interest in e
Seal Press originally published Helping Her Get Free with the title To Be an Anchor in the Storm. The survivor of an abusive relationship herself and a licensed counselor of abused women for more tha
Sex. After. Baby. These three words are whispered by mothers everywhere who find themselves stumped and shocked by the state of their sex lives. Naughty Mommy Heidi Raykeil has been down that road an
Newly revised and updated, this bestselling and indispensable guide is straightforward, sensible, and empathetic. With practical and gently guidance, the authors help women work towards building rela
Better Than I Ever Expected is a warm, witty, and honest book that contends with the challenges and celebrates the delights of older-life sexuality. It asserts that women over sixty are at the top of
Stories from Blue Latitudes gathers the major and emerging women fiction writers from the Caribbean, including Dionne Brand, Michelle Cliff, Merle Collins, Edwidge Danticat, Jamaica Kincaid, Paule Ma
The most popular question any pregnant woman is asked — aside from "When are you due?" — has got to be "Are you having a girl or a boy?" When author Andrea Buchanan, already a mom to a li
Since their emergence as a journalistic force after the world wars, women have continued to break new ground in newspapers and magazines, redefining the world as we see it as well as the craft as it
Women travel for myriad reasons: They venture out to escape the routine of daily existence; to encounter fascinating new people and places; to enrich their lives; to embrace new cultures; and to explo
Waking Up American includes original work by women who are either American-born of at least one foreign-born parent or who immigrated to the United States during childhood. The writers explore what i
Legendary for fabulous food, persistent men, and a lyrical language, Italy has inspired many great love affairs—with the country itself. From the notorious occupants and cuisine of Sicily, to t
If they could do it all over again, they might not...so it's a good thing none of the women in this hilarious collection had the foresight to make good decisions during these travel experiences. If t
The media, from Dr. Phil to the New York Times Magazine, is adamant that there is no love lost between working parents and those who stay home with their children, each fighting an ideological and eco
When Manhattan housewife Bettina Balser begins to suspect that she is going mad, she starts a secret diary as a form of therapy and escape. Her fears pour onto the page: "Elevators, subways, bridges,
