Waisted

OK, so I admit it, I am one of those women who has been obsessed with my body since my teen years.  Always looking at others thinking I should be thinner, that I should have smaller thighs, that if my breasts were smaller I would look better in my clothes.  Dieting was the focus of the 1970s and

it is only now, looking back from the weight I am today, (not thin), that I can see how great I really looked back then.  Oh to weigh now what I weighed in High School!!!

But finally, I think, I am mostly happy with myself and even though it would be nice to fit into that dress or those pants, I am happy with myself and not stressing over my weight.  I am enjoying every day and exercising only because it is good for me...nothing in the extreme.

But I will say that to sit reading a book about dieting and food and extreme exercising and weigh ins, makes you think about eating and what should I eat as a snack while I am reading.  So those cookies or chips probably are not a good idea and I should be eating some carrots or apple slices instead... oh does it ever really end??

Waisted  by author Randy Susan Meyers is an incredibly well written novel with clever, witty repartee.  The characters are well drawn and the descriptions of the weight loss program is an accurately created exaggeration of the weight loss TV programs. It is really true, the question of what lengths will people go to to achieve the ideal body.  and also the idea of almost never being happy with the body you have and always having to maintain that level of intense exercise and restraint to keep the beautiful body when you get there.

So many of us grew up with Jewish mothers who thought they were helping us and themselves going from diet to diet and at the same time telling us to eat and finish everything on our plates.  

This is the story of three women who meet after they each for different reasons feel that their relationships with men would be improved if they were thinner.  They are, of course, obese so that there is a reason to try and lose so much weight that they go to get help.  The ad they each have answered promises weight loss with dignity and caring.  What they find is a group of people who are using humiliation and degradation to manipulate them and see how far they are willing to go to achieve their dream.

Over a light lunch, Randy Susan talked about her childhood, growing up in Brooklyn NY with her mother and shopping with her grandmother.  Each of her novels are based on stories she has experienced and she does say that her personal characteristics are evident in the characters in her books.  She talks about her relationship with food and about all the women she interviewed and research she did about what women go through to work toward their ideal body.  personally, Meyers feels she has reached a good relationship with food and her body. 

Randy Susan Meyers is the bestselling author of Waisted, Accidents of Marriage, The Comfort of Lies, The Murderer’s Daughters, and The Widow of Wall Street. Her books have twice been finalists for the Mass Book Award and named “Must Read Books” by the Massachusetts Center for the Book. She lives with her husband in Boston, where she teaches writing at the Grub Street Writers’ Center.

The Chelsea Girls

A historical fiction novel that is a fascinating plot and keeps you reading until the very last page, written by Fiona Davis.

This is another fascinating historical novel taking the reader through history with a clever, fast paced plot.  This novel illustrates what happened in America after the war. About how McCarthyism became acceptable and believable in this country. 

Introducing readers to a group of young single girls who had performed for the troops in Europe, Davis sets the stage for three strong women who defied their parents and the conventions of  that time.  They loved the theatre and movies and craved fame. They travel to entertain the troops and all become friends.  They even try to go against  the army officers to save two young men who they believe are resistance fighters.   

After the war they meet up again at the Chelsea Hotel in Manhattan and are pursuing careers in theatre. 
You are drawn into the world of the Chelsea Hotel and the women who lived there. It is fascinating to think that at that time, women really did not leave home for a career and live alone.  The hotel management was protective of their privacy.  They had sort of a quiet sorority of a kind there.  Then each women makes some choices that will change the course of history and their lives.  McCarthyism had really taken hold in the US and people did not know how to stand up to the accusations against them.  People were living in fear especially those who were in the media and show business. This book tries to show how you could get caught up in the mania and also how your could be ruined by the hysteria.

Each one has some secrets they are reluctant to share. As they negotiate life and love interests, their secrets will affect their lives and the lives of the others. 

My Ex Life

OK , os I am adding to this review ...  I have reread the book and gotten the exciting opportunity to interview the author Stephan McCauley about this book, My Ex-Life. It has of course changed my perspective and increased my appreciation for the novel.

Though I say at the end of this review that it is a sweet and funny, there is so much more to this plot.  Yes, the novel has quite a few funny interactions between characters.  There are great, colorful and funny descriptions of characters, but each of these characters are very deep and complicated souls. 
Each character has an ex-life in some fashion.  Each character is flawed in some way.  Each character is caring around a secret that is weighing them down. 

David Hedges is living a swinging life of a single gay man in San Francisco.  He  is renting a cute cottage with a attractive address, having just broken up with his latest relationship, he works to help young graduating seniors apply to colleges.

His ex wife, Julie,  is living on the opposite coast, just outside Boston, with her daughter and finalizing her divorce from her second marriage.   She about to lose her house and her daughter is supposed to be applying to college.  While going through some old papers,  Mandy discovers her mother's ex, she writes to him asking him to come help her write her essay and fill out college applications.

Mandy thinks bringing her mother and the ex together seems like a great idea.  The pressure is on from Mandy's dad to get focused on college admissions and he also want Julie to sell the house so he can put more money into his restaurant. He is ready to move on and remarry.  All Julie needs now is money to buy him out.  She is renting out rooms in the house as an airbnb.  Her life is so mixed up and the reefer isn't help her keep a clear head.

David comes east and helps to fix not only the house, but Mandy, Julie and his life.

Following each of these main characters as they interact with each other and try to negotiate their lives, we learn about their secrets and desires.  This book though written in alight hearted manner, really delves deeply into each characters inner thoughts and feelings.  Even the supporting actors are well developed roles, which help the story unfold.  The neighbor, friend who acts one way but is different on the inside and the creepy boyfriend, dangerous character in Mandy's life are perfectly portrayed.

I really got attached to Mandy , Julie's daughter, and was quite concerned as she seemed to be going down a danger path.  As a parent, I was concerned about the lack of watchfulness that Julie was showing and the lack of knowledge that David had about how to care for a teenager. 

A sweet, heartbreaking and funny novel about family, love and what being home really means.  The dialog is snappy and very relevant.   Sometimes family and caring for others is not limited to the one you are married to.