Plaintext

Five essays in Mairs's collection have been previously published in magazines. The other seven are originals that will speak clearly to the hearts of women in ambiguous positions as society dictates changes in traditional roles. A wife and the mother of two grown children, the author reveals intimate information about her life, personal and professional. Although she is afflicted by multiple sclerosis, Mairs, who lives in Arizona, copes with her job as a teacher and writer, in ways she describes in "On Being a Cripple.'' Sparing herself little, she reveals crises that drove her to attempt suicide, the battles against the clinical depression that hospitalized her, and other periods of serious danger. It's clear that work and a keen wit are Mairs's strongest allies. She can laugh at her own fumbling methods of surviving. The author's convictions are stated in ``A Letter to Matthew,'' her son. She counsels him to reject the values that determine the attitude of elderly men toward women. Matthew, she writes, is young enough to change.

On having adventures --
On being a cripple --
On touching by accident --
On being a scientific booby --
Woman with full red lips --
Ron her son --
A letter to Matthew --
On being raised by a daughter --
On not liking sex --
On keeping women in/out --
On loving men --
On living behind bars