BKMT READING GUIDES
The Other Woman: Twenty-one Wives, Lovers, and Others Talk Openly About Sex, Deception, Love, and Betrayal
by Victoria Zackheim
Hardcover : 288 pages
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Introduction
She's been called the harpy, the Jezebel, the Lorelei, the bitch...and other choice names. In truth, she is someone's daughter, mother, friend, confidante. She seduces husbands, breaks up marriages, and occasionally becomes a stepmother. Sometimes, she is even a victim. So who is this creature who arrives like a wrecking ball to destroy lives and families? She is the Other Woman—but she's only half the story.
For every Other Woman, there is a wife or girlfriend whose relationship has been devastated—or surprisingly—blissfully liberated. Some women find themselves playing both roles during the course of a lifetime. With 21 insightful essays (20 written specifically for this anthology) from the list of America's most respected and award-winning female authors, this collection explores the highly personal, sometimes anguished, sometimes hilarious, but always compelling experiences of women on both sides of these highly charged and emotional situations.
Excerpt
NOT ISTANBULPam Houston
Here's the thing about the other woman. She lives inside your head. She may live on the next street or in the next town or halfway across the world; she may be five-two or five-nine; she may be rail thin (never skinny) or voluptuous (never fat). But however big or small she is, however much space she takes up in the world, will never compare to the amount of space she'll take up in your brain. It is there that she will spread herself from wall to wall, eating gift-wrapped chocolates-so many gift-wrapped chocolates that she will ooze into every nook and cranny of your cerebrum, until you won't be able to think of anything else. And if you let her take up residence there, no matter when you cut her off, no matter how hard you try to starve her, you may never, ever, get her out. ...
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Discussion Questions
From Victoria:1. If you were the other woman, how did it affect your life?
2. If you suffered the presence of the other woman, how did it change your marriage (or relationship)?
3. In what ways has the attitude toward the other woman changed in our society? How do you feel about this?
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Notes From the Author to the Bookclub
A Note from Victoria for you: One of the first questions I’m asked is Were you the wife or the other woman? Strange as seems, I was neither. The idea came to me while listening to my car radio. Someone said ‘the other woman’ and my imagination took flight. Anthology! I pitched the idea to an agent and she loved it. Then I contacted a few authors. Would anyone be willing to share something so personal? One woman wrote, “How can I not? The bastard’s got it coming!” Within days, twenty-one authors were on board. In January 2006, The Other Woman sold to Warner Books (now Grand Central Publishing). Several months later, twenty-one superb essays were written and delivered. When you hold The Other Woman in your hands, please think of the heart and soul that went into each page. I sincerely hope that you love this book—I believe that you will—and that you read each essay as it was intended: an intimate look into the heart and mind of the author. Some essays will make you laugh, others will make you weep, and each one will make you feel as if you’ve known these remarkable women for a lifetime.Book Club Recommendations
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