Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography And Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Feminism & Feminist Theory    7. Feminists    8. Incest victims    9. Political    10. Political activists    11. Specific Groups - Lesbians    12. United States    13. Women    14. Biography: general    15. Social Science / Gender Studies    16. USA   

Reviews (8)

I love women
I had been putting off this book for about 4 years and I finally read it. I was putting it off because I read the first chapter and it was dry. I have to tell you that it gets better down the road. Audre is not just talking about lesbianism, she is talking about being a woman and general. You can get good relationship advice by NOT following what she did in her relationships. I was exposed to lesbianism of 20-30 years ago in this book. It's so different now and for women (of all sexualities and colors) this book is for you.
A Memorable Portrait of a Difficult Life Shaped By Zami
In "Zami: A New Spelling of My Name: A Biomythography," Audre Lorde writes that "[e]very woman I have ever loved has left her print upon me." Thus, "Zami" serves as a window into Lorde's experiences with other women-especially her mother-who informed and shaped her life from childhood into adulthood within the context of romantic links and friendships, especially during turbulent and conflicting periods in American history. For example, Lorde describes a difficult childhood at school and at home during the poverty ridden 1930s. Especially revealing about this moment in time is Lorde's fascination with her mother's strength and courage amidst racial discrimination-which, according to Lorde, went unnamed. As a result, she grew up in a world where difference was much more assumed rather than defined and interrogated. Fascinating, but also commonplace
A strong voice in both African-American women's literature and lesbian literature, Audre Lorde is likely someone as alien to my experience as anyone could possibly be. Well, at least someone who was born and raised in the U.S. At first, I found this biography fascinating, but it began to tire me about halfway through. I don't know what I was expecting, but I felt like everything was commonplace, rather than distinct and unique.Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography / Autobiography    2. Feminism & Feminist Theory    3. Feminist fiction    4. Fiction    5. Lesbian Studies    6. Lesbians    7. Social Science    8. Sociology    9. Specific Groups - Lesbians    10. Biography & Autobiography   

Editorial Review

She's not in Kansas anymore! Melissa Etheridge, the gutsy Midwest girl who grew up to be the heartland's gift to rock & roll (and a major gay spokeswoman) tells all in her memoir, Read more

Reviews (116)

If you love Melissa ....
This book was fabulous - it's hard to put it down !!If you love Melissa, you have to read this book right away ... you really get a whole new perspective of what her music is all about.Since the book ended, Melissa could write (and SHOULD) write another on her new relationship, new babies and her cancer story.

Small Town In Big Boots
This book will leave you in awe after you read it from the pictures alone. Smalltown with big boots is this biography of Melissa Etheridge. Cold, hard truths tangled through the pages. Laughing and hurting with her ... common grounds spoke about ... she's real, true and strong.
Inspiring
Intimate, honest, and inspiring.You can feel every bit of passion she has for life and for her music when you read this book.By the end you realize she is just like everyone else, seeking out love and success.You'll appreciate her music so much more after reading this book.She explains the reasons behind writing some specific songs and you can tell that everything she writes (lyrics and music)is truly about the emotions and struggles of her life.This book will really push you to just be true to who are and inspire you to seek out your own passion. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Composers & Musicians - General    6. Composers & Musicians - Rock    7. Lesbian musicians    8. Rock musicians    9. Specific Groups - Lesbians    10. United States    11. Women    12. Women rock musicians    13. Biography & Autobiography / Composers & Musicians    14. Biography: film, television & music    15. Rock & pop   

Editorial Review

When Donna Minkowitz, a contributing writer to the Read more

Reviews (7)

FACTUALLY IN ERROR
This book has gross errors. The woman's organization to which the author refers, is not what she made it out to be at all. What she actually attended was a church. The church invited a woman's ministryfrom else where in the country to come in and, both speak to the woman who attend the church and to do a teaching that might benefit woman as they seek employment. One reviewer accepted the author's perverse depiction and reaction to this event and called what really was a church as "a kaffeeklatsch of Christian women." Factual errors lead to the spreading of misinformation. Provocative comparison of Religious Right and GLBT movements
Journalist Minkowitz goes undercover in different Religious Right groups (including the Promise Keepers and a Christian ladies' makeover seminar) and compares the desires she sees expressed in these groups to those she sees expressed among her own queer Left.She starts out seeing the Religious Right as enemies, and without changing her fundamental political views, she discovers that desires for connection, unconditional love, ecstasy, transcendence and transformation shape both of these opposing movements.A fascinating and interesting read!

Ferocious Romance What My Encounters With the Right Wing Tau
I'm a member of one of the churches mentioned in this book.I am both perplexed and bewildered at how a church with Democratic ministers and congregates who voted repeatedly for President Clinton, can beconsidered "Right Wing" as the title of Ms. Minkowitz book would suggest.Therefore, at the outset, I realized that factually this book had problems.Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Christianity    5. Evangelicalism    6. Evangelistic work    7. Homosexuality    8. Lesbian Studies    9. Religious    10. Religious aspects    11. Specific Groups - Lesbians    12. United States    13. Women    14. Biography: general    15. Current Events / General    16. Minkowitz, Donna    17. Women's studies   

Reviews (1)

Fun fun fun!!
This book was really great. As a "other mother" myself, I was thrilled to hear about this book, and it is all it says it shouls be- funny, sad, cute. I loved reading it, and have telling friends to buy it! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Gay Studies    4. General    5. Lesbian mothers    6. Nonbiological mothers    7. Parental Memoirs    8. Social Science    9. Sociology    10. Specific Groups - Lesbians    11. Women    12. Social Science / Gay Studies   

Reviews (16)

OMG this book is SO hilarious!
Be prepared to be unable to stop laughing! The title story was my favorite, tied with "Litter String" (which is one of several stories written from the POV of Babycakes the cat). I can't wait to read more by this fantastic writer!

One of the worst books I have ever read
This book is awful. There is just no excuse for it. This collection of short memoirs are banal, tedious and utterly witless. Peck's only qualifications as a writer is the fact that she is female, over fifty, overweight and gay. Her memoirs are so insipid that finishing this book was incredibly difficult. Reading her memories about her grandparent's cows and how she is unable to pee in the woods made me roll my eyes. When she wrote about her cat, Babycakes, she made it sound as if her cat is ingenious and inovative to do all of these things which cats do naturally (her cat likes string? Really? Wow. . .).I kept waiting for this book to become the fascinating, utterly hilarious, insightful, witty literary achievement that all the other reviews claimed that it was. Needless to say, that never happened. I plan on giving this book to someone that I don't like very much.

Delightful!
A humorous, tongue-in-cheek look at life as a "woman of size."Deliciously entertaining!
Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Form - Essays    4. Humor    5. Lesbians    6. Mental health    7. Overweight women    8. Peck, Cheryl    9. Personal Memoirs    10. Specific Groups - Lesbians    11. United States    12. Women    13. Women In The U.S.    14. Biography: general    15. Humor / Essays    16. Humour    17. USA   

Reviews (1)

Unafraid to Fight
Alexis DeVeaux presents a comprehensive account of self-described feminist, lesbian, and poet warrior, Audre Lorde.The author pulls together a myriad of published documents, unpublished journal entries by Audre Lorde herself, and a host of interviews with personal friends and family members to create a well documented look at the poet's life.The book is divided into two major sections called "lives."The first life begins prior to Audre's birth, and highlights some aspects of her parent's early life, their eventual marriage and move from the Caribbean to the United States.This family background helps readers understand Audre's nearly lifelong quest to come to terms with her relationship with her often emotionally detached parents.This portion of the book also details information about Audre's childhood, educational background, and young adult life.We learn about Audre's marriage to a white, gay, man and their eventual divorce and follow her process of "coming out" regarding her own lesbianism.Her long-term relationship with a white woman, Frances Clayton, and the challenges associated with raising a bi-racial son and daughter in a lesbian household during an era of rampant, overt racism and sexism was also discussed.DeVeaux also takes time to highlight some of Audre Lorde's flaws, thus providing a somewhat more balanced view of the author.Her professional career as a poet develops slowly, and the evolution of her writing career parallels the evolution of her political views and personal growth.
Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Ethnic Cultures - General    7. Feminists    8. Lesbians    9. Literary    10. Lorde, Audre    11. Lorde, Audre - Poems & Criticism    12. People of Color    13. Poets, American    14. Specific Groups - Lesbians    15. United States    16. Biography: general    17. English    18. Poetry & poets: from c 1900 -    19. USA   

Reviews (2)

Plesasurable reading
Rare and Commonplace Flowers innovates in the scholarly field. A carefully documented biography, it reconstructs step by step the story of Elizabeth Bishop and Lota de Macedo Soares.Carmen Oliveira's literary achievement lies in conveying this research of undeniable academid value in a very agreeable piece of storytelling.A must for Women's Studies, the book is recommended to anyone who enjoys a good read.

At last, in English!
This book is a treasure, a delightful read.It speaks to a broad range of interests.Fans of Elizabeth Bishop will enjoy learning about her relationship with Lota and her experiences during the 17 years she lived in Brazil.If you are interested in Brazilian history and politics, you will find a rare account of the early sixties in Rio de Janeiro, as the country headed toward military dictatorship.It is also a marvelous and tragic love story.Read more

Subjects:  1. 1910-1967    2. 1911-1979    3. Artists, Architects, Photographers    4. Biography & Autobiography    5. Biography / Autobiography    6. Biography/Autobiography    7. Bishop, Elizabeth,    8. Bishop, Elizabeth, 1911-1979    9. Fiction    10. Lesbian Studies    11. Lesbians    12. Literary    13. Soares, Lota de Macedo,    14. Specific Groups - Lesbians    15. Biography: general    16. Bishop, Elizabeth    17. Brazil    18. English    19. Individual artists    20. Poetry & poets: from c 1900 -    21. Soares, Lota de Macedo   

Reviews (5)

A hard-hitting, honest account which doesn't pull punches or disguise its humanness
Author Tania Katan was 21 when she was diagnosed with Stage III breast cancer: 10 years later and one breast less she again faced the same diagnosis. Don't expect the usual story of pain and courage: Katan's raw, blasting memoir is playful and angry alike, covering everything from self-image and post-mastectomy sex to shopping for a mastectomy bra. My One-Night Stand With Cancer is a hard-hitting, honest account which doesn't pull punches or disguise its humanness.
A different book ... a different perspective on cancer
I saw a short article announcing the book's release in a magazine and thought it would be an interesting read, because you seldom see a humorous look at something we deem as "not a joking matter". WOW! Let me say, this book is more than just about someone getting cancer. It's about family and friendships and no matter how quirky your family is and how toxic some relationships are, you can still come out on top even when you've been hit not once, but twice with a life threatening disease. Tania is my hero. Very inspiring story. You'll find yourself scolding her in some parts and emphatically cheering her on in others. I definitely recommend this book. You will not regret it.

Tania Rocks!
This book is awesome!As a cancer surviour myself I could relate to what Ms. Katan has gone through.Although this book is written with humor, it did stir up feelings that I thought I had all ready dealt with.It is extremely well written and an easy read.Even if you have not had to battle cancer, I think you will enjoy this book, especially if someone you care for has gone through this terrible illness.Tania, I hope you continue writing and I will be your number one fan! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Breast    6. Cancer    7. Diseases - Breast Cancer    8. General    9. Lesbian Studies    10. Lesbians    11. Medical - General    12. Patients    13. Specific Groups - Lesbians    14. United States    15. Women comedians    16. Biography & Autobiography / General    17. Biography: general    18. Coping with illness    19. Literature of special Lesbian interest   

Reviews (3)

Unusually insightful and fresh for such a long-running show
Even as a white middle class hetero, I enjoy following on an ocassional basis the progress of Ms. Bechdel's cast of characters. It's rare to find a cartoonist who has so sucessfully kept a shtick going so long without becoming hopelessly stale (although perhaps it's a bit easier for a self-consciously running commentary on society and politics wherre the material is a little more dynamic than, say, the antics of Dennis the Menace or Little Jeffrey)....

You Must Have It
Bechdel's prose here is as smart and funny as readers of the regular stripwould expect.It starts as a memoir as she describes her beginnings andprogression as a cartoonist, and includes lots of early drawings andstrips.The bulk of the book is made up of stuff never seen in the DTWOFvolumes: strips from her calendars, strips made for other magazines orspecial occasions, and autobiographical work.It's great stuff, alwaysfunny, and everyone with a sense of humor should buy it right away.

Ever wished you could meet the author of DTWOF?
Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography / Autobiography    2. Comics & Cartoons    3. Form - Cartoons & Comics    4. Humor    5. Lesbian Studies    6. Specific Groups - Lesbians    7. Cartoons & comic strips   

Reviews (6)

Fabulous!
"Skin" is a book of essays by the amazingly talented writer and activist, Dorothy Allison. I remember reading [...] Out of Carolina many years ago and thinking I might not get through it because of its gruesome and hideous portrayal of a poverty-stricken, incestuous family living in the South. Turns out that book was Allison's fictionalized account of her childhood. Skin, however, is a finely crafted series of essays with titles ranging from "Gun Crazy" to "The Theory and Practice of the Strap-on Dildo" to "Believing in Literature". She likes to talk about everything people aren't supposed to talk about, including masturbating to science fiction novels, the pain of catching a venereal disease from her stepfather when she was a child (a disease that went untreated, rendering her sterile), the thrill of S & M, butch/femme strap-on sex, and much more just as juicy. Allison's style is fearlessly intimate and unashamed. Her long struggle to escape poverty and find a voice is evident in every page, and in every page her voice is beautiful, loud, and resiliant.

Essays on class, racism, sexuality, and literature
The extraordinary Dorothy Allison can write fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and essays. Skin is her contribution to the essay genre, a collection of two dozen bits of astute rambling across a crazy quilt of subjects stitched together by the fierce honesty her readers have come to expect from all of her writing. Coming from a poor white trash family in South Carolina, she traveled beyond her origins thanks to a rampant intelligence that nothing could dull. A feminist before the word was invented, Allison is also a proud card-carrying lesbian, a writer, mentor, teacher, lecturer, and a woman who is always generous to other writers. Skin deals more explicitly and in greater depth with erotica and sexuality than her other works, so readers would do well to be forewarned. But if you're a Dorothy Allison fan, this is NOT a book to be missed.

A book about SEX!
An opportunity to get thinking about a few "difficult" subjects, while enjoying a few refreshing lines of thought as well as a no-nonense yet witty style.Being a woman, gay or poor not a requisite, although itmight help. If you're neither of the three, buy the book anyway, you mightlearn something (I did). ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Allison, Dorothy    3. Authors, American    4. Biography    5. Biography / Autobiography    6. Essays    7. Feminist    8. Feminists    9. General    10. Lesbians    11. Literary Collections    12. Literature: Classics    13. Sexuality In Literature    14. Southern States    15. Specific Groups - Lesbians    16. United States    17. Women As Authors (American Literature)    18. Cosmetics, make-up & skin care    19. English    20. USA   

Reviews (19)

Nothing to lose if you don't read this book
As the author is presented as an enlightened person, I wanted to know what is written in the book. I found nothing remarkable about its contents. I read it because I could not give up the hope to find atleast one unique perspective from an enlightened person's writing, and also because I spent money to buy the book.
a wonderful surprise...
This book is written by a remarkable woman who is handicap, a recovered addict and a lesbian. Already you are into this or turned off. The interesting thing is that the author's "handicaps" are not the important aspect of this book at all. As a reader, one forgets all about joan as a person because it is so easy to identify one's self with her. Through her journal like writing, the reader gets to experience her awakenings with her and it is a great experience. I would reccomend it to anyone.

a window into the author's process
This book is a very intimate look at the author's process. Here she is, suffering like the rest of us, living on an emotional roller coaster, compelled by habitual behaviours, confused, and at the same time engaged in her practice.Read more

Subjects:  1. 1948-    2. Biography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Lesbians    5. Meditations    6. Religion    7. Specific Groups - Lesbians    8. Spiritual biography    9. Spirituality - Women's    10. Tollifson, Joan,    11. United States    12. Women with disabilities    13. Self-Help / Meditations    14. Tollifson, Joan   

Editorial Review

William Murray, a staff writer at Read more

Reviews (8)

This book only tells part of the story!
I first got this book because I was curious about it from the obituary.I read it today in it's entirety.I think the author does deserve a superb job in allowing us to understand each of the real people with flaws and talents.I was led to believe that Natalia and Janet were always together but as I read.They were separated and torn apart for other reasons.Natalia never really comes out to acknowledge her sexual orientation.Bill never doubts his own.He reveals a lot about himself like losing his virginity to a prostitute.Bill's childhood was not entirely spent at home but at boarding schools in New England.I think Janet served as a father figure.When she was 83 years old, she had to retire to New York and live the last 3 years with Natalia.Why she kept coming and going to and from is puzzling to me?Janet was a complicated woman and these two women truly loved each other.Maybe the separations allowed them to love each other more apart.Will never really know?We weren't truly there ourselves.Bill allows us to see his childhood was normal.I was surprised that his mother would worry about his sexual orientation.I wondered what would have happened if he turned out gay himself.Would she blame herself? Who knows? I read about Alice, his second wife.I don't think Natalia understood their relationship.Now that all 3 members of that unique family is gone, I think Alice deserves some mention. Bill wasn't the best husband or father.They did live together for 5 years before their marriage.I say give Alice a break.They were together for 30 years.At the end of Natalia's life, she was unbearable probably because she was ill physically and medication often can contribute to a person's mental state.Bill and Alice stayed together for 30 years.I admire Alice and his first wife Doris who managed to deal with an overbearing mother-in-law.I also think Natalia had trouble letting go of Bill all his life and that's why there is so much trouble.Since Bill is gone, my condolences to Alice, Doris, Natalia, Julia, and Bill III over your more recent loss.
Fascinating Memoir
I admit that my knowledge of Janet Flanner was hazy when I bought this book, my exposure to the "New Yorker" limited to a few issues per year only in the last ten years. That wasn't the selling point for me -- I had read good reviews that this was the memoir of a boy raised in a non-traditional home in the 1940s and that detail fascinated me. Phenomenal book
When I look back on the many books I've read over the past year (easily 50 or more), I can say emphatically that this was one of the best and most memorable.I can remember where I sat (by a fountain) when I began the book, and where I was (at a garden) when I closed its cover for the final time.Murray captured the essence of a very complex, yet loving relationship between two sophisticated, intelligent women.After I finished his book, I yearned to learn more about them, and read a biography of Flanner, Murray's mother's book of correspondence between herself and Flanner, and several of Flanner's New Yorker compilations.A heartfelt thanks, William Murray. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Authors, American    3. Biography    4. Biography & Autobiography    5. Biography / Autobiography    6. Biography/Autobiography    7. Gay Studies    8. General    9. Homosexuality    10. Lesbians    11. Literary    12. Specific Groups - Lesbians    13. United States    14. Women    15. Women in the book industries and trade    16. Biography & Autobiography / General    17. Family    18. Flanner, Janet    19. Murray, Natalia Danesi    20. Murray, William   

Reviews (6)

A Fun, Easy Read...
The book is organized into essays that read like really well-written blog posts.The author is lots of fun, and some of the stories she offers are both poignant and hilarious.Some of it can be a bit repetitive, but not so much as to annoy.If you're looking for some light reading and you're fairly openminded, you should definitely go for this one.

When a sequel is actually better
Overall, I liked this collection better than the first one.That having been said, I'd recommend reading "Fat Girls" first to become acquainted with the author's family. My favorite here was the transgender piece.

Witty and Insightful
Revenge of the Paste Eaters is a collection of witty, insightful and heartwarming essays about the author's life. Cheryl Peck pokes fun at herself, her family, her Midwestern upbringing, her insecurities and even her cat, but there is no malice in her words, and some of us can relate to the topics she chooses.
Read more

Subjects:  1. American Satire And Humor    2. Anecdotes    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography And Autobiography    6. Biography/Autobiography    7. Feminists    8. Form - Essays    9. General    10. Humor    11. Lesbians    12. Michigan    13. Personal Memoirs    14. Specific Groups - Lesbians    15. Biography: general    16. English    17. Humor / Essays    18. USA   

Editorial Review

The poet May Sarton's reputation took a nosedive after her death in 1995 and the unflattering biography (by Margot Peters) that followed. The publication of her tender, revealing letters has managed to arrest this decline. Susan Sherman, who edited Sarton's Read more

Reviews (6)

Dear Juliette:Letters of May Sarton to Juliette Huxley
In this book of letters, rich in description of life before, during, and after the war, Sarton's inner climate and varied landscape are revealed in fascinating detail.Readers find fertile ground for contemplation of who Sarton really was and why this friendship endured.*Dear Juliette* contains extraordinarily detailed notes researched by Susan Sherman who is knowledgeable about her subject from both personal and scholarly perspectives.Providing a palette of color and shading in emotional texture as well as factual background, Sherman's notes add tremendous depth to the story Sarton tells.The preface gives the reader insightful information about Sarton's complicated temperament and brings clarity and understanding to the canvas.This is Sarton at her best:with the transparency she so valued telling her readers about the most remarkable love of her life.....her dear Juliette.

Herculean Task
From Erika Pfander Director of the Chamber Theatre of Maine; Director and Producer of May Sarton's only plays: "The Music Box Bird" and "The Underground River" Dear Juliette: an evocation of the "ethos of a love affair"
Susan Sherman, editor of Dear Juliette, was bequeathed the challenge of bringing to life Sarton's relationship with Juliette Huxley.Too frail and in ill health to complete the process of selecting and editing hundreds ofletters and completing an introduction that would preface this story,Sarton asked Ms. Sherman to complete the work.As editor of previousvolumes of Sarton's unpublished poems and letters, including May SartonAmong the Usual Days and May Sarton: Selected Letters 1916-1954, Ms.Sherman was well qualified to bring this project to fruition, the resultsof which are this monumental achievement presenting the immortalization ofthe "ethos of a love affair." In a letter written toJuliette in 1937 Sarton comments: "How difficult it is to love well -to know when it is better to be silent, that even joy can strain the heartso frightfully - though in general everything that denies life seems falseto me." (63)* That comment sums up a great deal of Sarton's feelingsabout human relationships and would remain essentially the same throughouther life.She could not deny love, regardless of the pain, suffering, fearor misunderstanding that may develop. Sarton first met the Huxleys,Julian and Juliette, in 1936.This meeting would change her life forever. Ironically, she first shared a love affair with Julian Huxley, biologistand then Director of the London Zoo.It was through this affair thatSarton grew to realize her real passion was reserved for women, as sheexplained to Julian in a letter: ". . . there is a part of me perhapsthe writing part that needs a woman as a man needs a woman. ... Howevermuch one loves there are things one can't do against one's ownspirit." (70) It was the writing part of her, the poet, who fell inlove with Juliette.Juliette became Sarton's muse as poetry flowedfrom her pen."One of the great virtues [of poetry] is that power tosay an apparently unsayable thing quite simply." (44)Yet this love,as intense and powerful as it was, was not destined to be fullyreciprocated.Juliett's fear and misunderstanding eventually dictated atwenty-seven year separation which was only overcome upon the death ofJulian Huxley in the mid 1970s.Eventually May Sarton and Juliette Huxleywere reuinited, the circle of the ethos of their love affair was completed. The intervening years of silence had not destroyed the love Sarton heldfor Juliette, it had just tempered it.". . . the pain is no longeracute; joy is no longer as intense as one looks back." (295)But theletters and poetry that were written around this passionate friendshipremain and are a testament to its endurance.They underscore Sarton'spresceint statement from 1948: "I would race through the years to meetyou at the other end." (241) *page numbers are from the text of DearJulietteLenora P. Blouin Author: May Sarton: A BibliographyScarecrow Press, 1978 Forthcoming: May Sarton: A Revised BibliographyScarecrow Press, 2000 ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1896-    2. 1912-    3. 1912-1995    4. 20th century    5. Authors, American    6. Biography & Autobiography    7. Biography / Autobiography    8. Biography/Autobiography    9. Correspondence    10. Huxley, Juliette,    11. Letters    12. Letters And Correspondence    13. Literary    14. Sarton, May - Prose & Criticism    15. Sarton, May,    16. Specific Groups - Lesbians    17. Women Authors    18. Huxley, Juliette    19. Sarton, May   

Editorial Review

Acclaimed in Germany and England, this tragic and remarkable real-life love story won a Lambda Literary Award when it was first published in America in 1995. Lilly Wust ("Aimée") was a conventional middle-class mother of four, estranged from her philandering husband, when she met Felice Schragenheim ("Jaguar") in 1941. Their passionate affair unfolded against the backdrop of the deportation of Jews from Berlin, but several months passed before Felice could even bring herself to tell Lilly that she was Jewish and living illegally on the streets. "I knew, of course, what it meant," Lilly recalled in old age. "Not for a moment did I think that I too could be in danger. On the contrary, all I wanted to do now was to save her." Lilly's heroic efforts to conceal and protect Felice through the next two years make for painful and inspiring reading. Felice was arrested in August 1944 and sent her last letter to Lilly four months later. In 1981 Lilly was awarded the German Federal Service Cross, though no one could read this as a happy ending. Read more

Reviews (20)

A great book!
It is a great book about a love affair during the war. I love how it tells about how the continued writing to eachother even when apart. This story will make you cry but is very beautiful in many ways.

Flawed real females makes compelling reading
I liked this book. Some of the pictures, I really wish I could blow up and have as prints in my room. The story gives a lot of insight into that era. The Amazon criticism is that the author really doesn't focus much on the lesbian aspect, instead focusing more on the era, the World War II Jewish persecution, etc. Given the setting and the individuals involved, this seems understandable. I really, really enjoyed this story. The problems and personality flaws of the women aren't glossed over either which is nice.

A facsinatingbook about that time
I am responding to previous reviews - I do not think this book is about romance, and I did not feel lack of personal "data".Read more

Subjects:  1. 1922-1944?    2. Berlin    3. Berlin (Germany)    4. Biography    5. Biography / Autobiography    6. Gay/Lesbian Nonfiction    7. Germany    8. Historical - General    9. Holocaust    10. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)    11. Lesbian Studies    12. Schragenheim, Felice,    13. Social Science    14. Specific Groups - Lesbians    15. Wust, Elisabeth    16. Schragenheim, Felice    17. Social Science / Lesbian Studies   

Reviews (5)

A lot of good info, but it reads like a newspaper
I'm giving this book 4 stars, because I'm a huge fan of Ellen, and as far as I can tell, this is the only biography available.If there were a few more biographies available, I'd probably only give it two stars.
Not the real story of Ellen
Ellen; I would like to hear your real story. You know something like "The Truth" by Ellen; would be nice. From what I can tell; the author did an unauthorized book as she never seems to meet Ellen directly. I bet Ellen didn't even get a dime for this book. UGH! Another case of glam/slam by a writer trying to cash in on a person that had the guts to stand up for their own truth! (...)

CHEAP REHASH OF MAGAZINES, NEWS ARTICLES AND VIDEOS
I bought this book expecting a carefully researched, full biography on Ellen. Instead it was basically a rehash of magazine articles, videos, and news stories about Ellen and her Coming-Out. The author did not even interview Ellen, so we don't get a true, direct-source picture of Ellen's life. Instead, we have old information taken from other sources and condensed into this book. It doesn't sound like the author interviewed Ellen's closest friends and associates, either; I got the impression that a lot of the information was third- or fourth-hand, not directly from the sources. This book is crassly commercial and written at the time that public interest in Ellen was at its peak. It reads like a fan magazine and its sole purpose was to make money, not to provide an insightfu