Showing results by publisher "Phoenix BookS" in Women

Born with the proverbial silver spoon in her mouth, the Honorable Diana Frances Spencer attained wealth, power, and title with her marriage to Charles, Prince of Wales. But her ultimate triumph owed nothing to those circumstances and everything to her inner qualities: to an innate ability to understand and connect with ordinary people, especially the desperately sick, the rejected, the "unloved."

She was the most outlandish, outrageous, in-your-face symbol of the age—and suddenly, shockingly, she was gone. In life her antics, adventures, and behavior kept a nation riveted; in death she stunned a world gripped by the surprise and swiftness of her unexpected passing. The woman was, of course, Anna Nicole Smith.

Though celebrated playwright Wendy Wasserstein was firmly rooted in New York's cultural life, her appeal is universal. Shiksa Goddess collects her urbane, inspiring, and deeply empathetic essays, all written when she was in her forties, and all infused with her trademark irreverent humor. The full range of Wasserstein's mid-life obsessions are covered in this eclectic collection—everything from Chekhov, politics, and celebrity to family, fashion, and real estate.

No one looked like her. No one walked like her. No one talked like her. Sexy, yet vulnerable, and unexpectedly talented, Marilyn Monroe was no ordinary screen goddess. But few really knew her. On June 1, 1962—Marilyn's 36th birthday—famed photographer and reporter George Barris visited Marilyn on the set of what would be her final, unfinished, film. For the next six weeks, Barris photographed and interviewed the actress. "Don't believe anything you read about me except this...." she told Barris.

Norma Jean Baker was a Hollywood starlet who transformed into Marilyn Monroe, a Hollywood sex symbol and one of the world's most iconic figures. Sadly, she died at age 36 in 1962 from a drug overdose. Montgomery Clift was a highly regarded actor. Dependent on drugs and alcohol, Clift was only 45 when he died of heart disease in 1966. But imagine if the lives of the costars of The Misfits had not been cut short? In this pair of speculative biographies, two writers suppose what might have been if Monroe and Clift had survived their drug-related demises.

One of the world's most iconic performers, Elvis Presley died at the age of 42 from a heart attack complicated by years of drug use. By the time she turned 18, Frances Gumm had shot to stardom as Judy Garland, playing Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz. Sadly, at the age of 47, she died of a drug overdose. But imagine if the lives of these icons had not been cut short by drugs? These vividly imaginative "biographies" are thoughtful, honest, heartfelt—and entirely within the realm of possibility, as the authors engage in an intriguing exercise of “What if...?”

Susanna Kaysen takes on another taboo subject: her vagina—which suddenly and inexplicably starts to hurt. The Camera My Mother Gave Me takes us through Kaysen's often comic, sometimes surreal encounters with all kinds of doctors—internists, gynecologists, and "alternative health" experts—as well as with her boyfriend and her friends as she seeks a cure—but nothing works. As sex becomes more and more painful, Kaysen's relationship with her boyfriend disintegrates and she turns to her best friends, her wicked sense of humor, and her wry self-reflection to cope.

For seven years, Hannah Nyala and her two children were physically and psychologically abused by her husband. Although they escaped, he soon found the trio and abducted the children. Seeking solace in the desert wilderness to make sense of her loss, Hannah joined a search-and-rescue team. In doing so, she developed skills as a tracker and dedicated herself to saving the lives of lost children. Becoming attuned to nature's messages, she can read the history of a footprint and the clues in stones and desert sand. But one day, she made a chilling discovery—someone was tracking her.

In A Year by the Sea, Joan Anderson documented her brave decision to take a year of solitude away from her marriage. In this moving sequel, Anderson gives fresh hope for all women and men negotiating their own marital passages. Using the same approach, she explores the challenges of rebuilding and renewing a marriage with her trademark candor, compassion, and insight. Anderson shows us her own rocky path to renewing a marriage gone stale and charts the new journey that she and her husband began, seasoned by years of marriage but awakened to the possibilities for their future.

One of the most popular and best-known Playboy pin-ups ever, Shannon Tweed burst on the scene in the 1980s as Playmate of the Year and Hugh Hefner's love interest. She soon became a successful actress, appearing in countless movies and television series. She met Gene Simmons at a party at the Playboy Mansion, and they lived happily ever after with their two children.

Before she became a teenager, Elizabeth Taylor was already a star, appearing in such films as Lassie Come Home and National Velvet. One of the few child actors to transition to a successful film career as an adult, Taylor starred in such classics as Father of the Bride, A Place in the Sun, and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? In addition to receiving two Academy Awards, Taylor led a tumultuous personal life that kept her in the headlines for decades.

While Pang-Mei Natasha Chang was a Chinese Studies major at Harvard University, she stumbled across the name of her 83-year-old great aunt Chang Yu-i in a history book. Over the next several years, Pang-Mei spent long afternoons drawing forth her aunt's story. Born in Shanghai to a well-to-do family, Chang Yu-i lived a life of defiance, continually breaking class and culture barriers.

In this memoir, the pseudonymous author, Ruthie Bolton, tells how she overcame tremendous obstacles to find her place in the world. Born into poverty in a rural Southern town, Bolton was abandoned by her 13-year-old mother and raised by her step-grandfather, an abusive tyrant who beat his wife to death and terrorized his children. With remarkable candor yet no trace of self-pity, Bolton describes how she used alcohol and drugs to try to escape her nightmarish existence.

Ronald Reagan carried a conservative vision of America to the White House, where his administration gave it life. Peggy Noonan followed Reagan to Washington as his speechwriter— and gave his vision voice. As speech writer for George Bush during his Presidential campaign, Noonan dispelled her candidate's "wimpy" image and replaced it with one of quiet strength by coining such eloquent phrases as "a thousand points of light" and "a kinder, gentler nation."

Blanche Wiesen Cook recreates Eleanor Roosevelt in all of her roles -- as a visionary, an activist, a political wife, and a woman far more independent than we knew. No other First Lady has had a greater influence in the course of democracy in this century, and no other book about Eleanor Roosevelt captures the complexity of her character - her wit, her passion, her boldness, and her commitment to greater dignity and security for all women and men.

She is the most popular novelist in history, yet the drama and torment of Agatha Christie's private life remains a mystery even to her most ardent fans. She made no secret of her disdain for the press and for those who wished to intrude on her private life. Nonetheless, in this immensely readable and intimate biography, best-selling author Richard Hack reveals the romance, scandal, and betrayal that drove one of the 20th century's most celebrated literary figures.

This haunting memoir tells the brutal story of the Vietnam War from the perspective of an innocent victim whose childhood was dominated by violence, devastation, and conflicts between the teachings of her culture and the realities of war. Le Ly Hayslip—the youngest in a close-knit Buddhist family—was 12 years old when U.S. helicopters landed in her village. She was raped and "ruined" for marriage by Viet Cong soldiers, imprisoned and tortured by the South Vietnamese, and sentenced to death by the Viet Cong.

It occurred to standup comic and comedy writer Carol Liefer that she had to stop telling one of her favorite stories—seeing The Beatles perform at Shea Stadium—because it dated her. But then she thought: What's that about? "I see now that when you deny your age, you deny yourself, and when you lie about your age, you become your inauthentic twin. But most important, when you lie about your age, they win." And, of course, by 'they,' she means the terrorists. In this uproarious audiobook, Leifer reveals all—her age, her outlook, her life philosophy—with a no-holds-barred approach.