Author(s): Cathi Hanauer

Health

Twenty-six working women tell the truth about sex, solitude, work, motherhood and marriage. It?s a typical night. You arrive home from work, exhausted. Your children are fighting, there?s a week?s worth of ironing, and your husband is snoring in front of the TV. Oh, and you?ve got a report to write for the next day. Across town your best friend is getting ready for an evening out. She has more fun than you ? certainly more sex ? but then her last boyfriend dumped her when she mentioned commitment, and now she?s dating a married man. And the clock is ticking . . . Women today are supposed to have it all. A fulfilling career, a loving marriage, children, fantastic sex and a beautiful home. Not to mention looking flawless at all times and younger than they actually are. Is it any wonder that so many feel angry, dissatisfied, stressed out? Funny, passionate, angry and provocative, The Bitch in the House is a no-holds-barred look at working women?s lives today. Here twenty-six women ? ranging in age from twenty-four to sixty-seven, and single and childless, or married with children, or four times divorced ? offer details of their lives that they?ve never publicly revealed. They talk about the choices they?ve made, their relationships, families, frustrations and hopes. For some the conflicts involve the stresses of juggling motherhood and a career; for others the feeling of not wanting children ? or the fear that they?ve left it too late. Like the perfect evening with your oldest friends, The Bitch in the House will leave you amused, saddened, and reassured that you are not alone. First published 2002.