The Bitch in the House : 26 Women Tell the Truth About Sex, Solitude, Work, Motherhood and Marriage - Softcover

Cathi Hanauer

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0141014296 ISBN 13: 9780141014296

Publisher: Penguin Books, 2003

Synopsis

Women in the 21st century have more than ever before, yet many find themselves angry, dissatisfied and stressed. This book explores these issues, with 26 women inviting readers into their lives, minds and bedrooms to talk about the choices they've made. They discuss 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 fear that they've left it too late.

About this title

Review

"This book was born out of anger," begins Cathi Hanauer, which seems appropriate considering the book's title: The Bitch in the House. What could have been a collective gripe about the day-to-day routine of holding a family or relationship together is instead a witty, and sometimes bitchy, read. These postfeminist mothers, lovers, wives, and independent women candidly put forward their anger in the taffy-pull world of household responsibility. Jill Bialosky puts it most succinctly, "I had wanted to get married, but I realized now that I had never wanted to be a 'wife'." There are essays written by those who willfully, and often playfully, seek a life independent from domesticated routine, and others who have aged past the concerns of being a self-fulfilled and responsible mother. Author and poet Ellen Gilchrist, who is also a mother and a grandmother, sets this lasting tone of contentment, "Family and work. Family and work. I can let them be at war, with guilt as their nuclear weapon and mutually assured destruction as their aim, or I can let them nourish each other."

Not entirely angry, it is ultimately a satisfying read. There are no intended messages on how women can improve their relationships with their husbands, partners, and children. That is the beauty of the book. They have instead revealed modern motherhood, and solitude, as it is, and may have been all along. --Karin Rosman

About the Author

Cathi Hanauer, the author of the novel My Sister's Bones, has written articles, essays, reviews, and fiction for Elle, Mirabella, Self, Glamour, Mademoiselle, and many other magazines. She has been the monthly books columnist for both Glamour and Mademoiselle, and was the relationship-advice columnist for Seventeen for seven years. She lives in western Massachusetts with her husband, writer Daniel Jones, and their daughter and son.

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin Books
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0141014296
• ISBN 13: 9780141014296
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 320