Dear Lit Loves,
Greetings! Today I am reviewing the new memoir titled LadyParts by Deborah Copaken. Ms. Copaken is also the author of the memoir Shutterbabe which mesmerized audiences with her revelations of what life is like for a female war photographer and journalist. Ms. Copaken also authored The Red Book as well as Between Here and April. She was a contributing writer to The Atlantic and a TV writer on Emily in Paris. Her column, "When Cupid Is a Prying Journalist" was adapted for the Modern Love streaming series.
In LadyParts: A Memoir Ms. Copaken shines a light on resilience when as a single mom she finds herself dropping from the middle class without a safety net once confronted with the following: a prolonged divorce from a man who has the sympathetic nature of a copperhead snake; paying for rent and adult child college tuitions when an ex-husband moves thousands of miles away and provides zero child support; attempting to find employment when women are often underpaid and often toil in harsh work environments, trying to secure healthcare insurance in between jobs via COBRA benefits; and last but not least, attempting to obtain a work/life balance when the corporate world only presents job opportunities to women that frequently include indifference to responsibilities a woman has as a mom, penalizes working women for taking time away from work to address personal and child medical ailments, discombobulated work environments that cause stress and lead to insecurities and a work world where sexual harassment and not being paid fairly or given credit for the work you create are often the norm. If I were teaching a class titled The Fine Art of Being A Feminist, this book would be required reading.
Talk about ever evolving turbulent periods in a life, Ms. Copaken certainly writes about navigating life's ups and downs when she finally decided to divorce her husband and not settle for less than she deserves when it comes to romantic relationships, utilizing creative ways to pay the rent and put food on the table, navigating finding a living space in New York City while dealing with shady landlords, keeping up tuition payments for her children's college educations with no assistance from their father, navigating adverse health crises when uninsured or waiting to acquire health insurance during a probationary period at a new job, and blowing the whistle on individuals in the workforce who try to strip women of the power to provide for themselves and obtain gainful employment without having to endure sexual harassment in the process.
As a writer, Ms. Copaken had the incredible opportunity to befriend the late Nora Ephron who lived by her words, "Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim." Ms. Copaken learned that lesson well and translated it in part via the memoir titled LadyParts. This book reveals a woman who was determined to survive and thrive though life kept emitting mortar fire at her no mater which way she turned. The process enabled her to build a no-nonsense ethical ability when it comes to her professional and personal life. She learned quickly what she would not settle for in a significant other and she learned how to gracefully navigate indifferent corporate work environments and blow the whistle when it comes to sexual harassment in the workplace whether you are a freelancer, consultant, or full-time, site-based employee.
This is a powerful memoir that I have been waiting to see on bookshelves since I navigated those same shark-infested corporate and academic waters many years ago. As a woman, you owe it to yourself to ensure that you are paid fairly for the work you choose to do, to be able to live a decent life and obtain affordable and well-managed healthcare, and to not tolerate sexual harassment of any sort by blowing the whistle on people who choose to engage in it. Be the heroine that more women today need to see and hear so others can orchestrate achieving the benefit of being the heroine of their own life story.
Bravo, Ms. Copaken! A job well-done! I highly recommend the book titled LadyParts: A Memoir by Deborah Copaken.
Till my next review, adventure, or tirade!
All Best,
Grace (aka Amy)
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