Area Woman Blows Gasket

From the author of Playing House comes a sharp and sophisticated collection of essays that takes us on a hilarious tour of our twenty-first-century obsessions and distractions. Patricia Pearson is a working woman, wife and mother on the verge. Whether it’s being humiliated by the Beauty Bullies at the Lancôme counter or failing to live up to the Serene Mother ideal, Pearson is fed up with negotiating our present-day myths and fads. In Area Woman Blows Gasket, Pearson plumbs every facet of modern life, marriage and motherhood: from choosing the right vegan-bran-hemp diet for your family to confronting your husband’s irrational fear of mayonnaise. Adult education classes, psychotherapy, $100 haircuts, the latest news on what may or may not cause cancer, Christmas shopping — all come into sharp focus with the help of Pearson’s comic eye. Her wry brand of wisdom is a refreshing and long-awaited release from the contradictions thrown at us by society.

Area Women Unite! In this sharp and sophisticated collection of essays, columnist Patricia Pearson takes us on a hilarious tour of our twenty-first-century obsessions and distractions. Patricia Pearson is a working woman, wife, and mother on the verge. Whether it's being humiliated by the "Beauty Bullies" at the Lancome counter or failing to live up to the "Serene Mother" ideal, Pearson has had enough of negotiating our present-day myths and fads. In fact, she's formed a few opinions on the matter and can't wait to share them with you. In Area Woman Blows Gasket, Pearson plumbs every facet of modern life, marriage, and motherhood, from choosing the right vegan-bran-hemp diet for your family to confronting your husband's irrational fear of mayonnaise to finding a way to return to work and not turn your child into a contract killer. Adult education classes, therapy, $100 haircuts, the latest news on what causes cancer, Christmas shopping-all come into sharp focus with the help of Pearson's comic eye. Her wry brand of wisdom is a refreshing and long-awaited release from our confusing and often contradictory world.

Patricia Pearson returns to non-fiction with a witty, insightful and highly personal look at recognizing and coping with fears and anxieties in our contemporary world. The millions of North Americans who silently cope with anxiety at last have a witty, articulate champion in Patricia Pearson, who shows that the anxious are hardly “nervous nellies” with “weak characters” who just need medicine and a pat on the head. Instead, Pearson questions what it is about today’s culture that is making people anxious, and offers some surprising answers–as well as some inspiring solutions based on her own fierce battle to drive the beast away. Drawing on personal episodes of incapacitating dread as a vivid, often hilarious guide to her quest to understand this most ancient of human emotions, Pearson delves into the history and geography of anxiety. Why are North Americans so much more likely to suffer than Latin Americans? Why did Darwin treat hypochondria with sprays from a hose? Why have we forgotten the insights of some of our greatest philosophers, theologians and psychologists in favor of prescribing addictive drugs? In this blend of fascinating reportage and poignant memoir, Pearson ends with her struggle to withdraw from antidepressants and to find more self-aware and philosophically-grounded ways to strengthen the soul.

Without warning, China and Pakistan launch devastating offensives against Nepal and Bangladesh. The U.N. Security Council is baffled—why would China ally itself with India’s northern neighbor? Then they learn that the Chinese are secretly planning to occupy Pakistan and take their oil reserves—by building a pipeline through India. Only one irrepressible force stands a chance against the immovable object that is the Chinese army—Lieutenant Commander Blake Murdock and his elite SEAL team. But they’ll have to walk a fine line, for even the slightest slip could lead to a full-blown nuclear war.

Includes, beginning Sept. 15, 1954 (and on the 15th of each month, Sept.-May) a special section: School library journal, ISSN 0000-0035, (called Junior libraries, 1954-May 1961). Also issued separately.