April 5, 2021
Novelist Ellis (Southern Lady Code) shines in this collection of essays that lovingly underscores the importance of having a circle of close friends. Ellis begins the collection with “Grown Ass Ladies Gone Mild,” an account of a trip to Panama City, Fla., with four of her childhood friends. Though they have been through a lot, when they get together the years fade away: “we see each other like we first saw each other: young.” Charming and frank life lessons ensue: “Are You There, Menopause? It’s Me, Helen” sees her using humor to laugh through the discomforts of hot flashes and weight gain with a group of friends she calls “The Bridge Ladies.” “I Feel Better About My Neck” covers Ellis’s experience getting a neck lift after tagging along as a friend got Botox at what seemed like a back-alley operation, while in “She’s a Character,” she dishes on what it means to be the life of the party. Ellis balances intimacy, humor, and directness: “I was not put on this earth to make strangers take me seriously.” The result is a candid, funny reminder that one need not take life too seriously. Agent: Brettne Bloom, the Book Group.
May 1, 2021
Whether she's playing poker or second fiddle, Ellis (American Housewife) proves again she is in it to win it, with this essay collection. In stories that will have readers in stitches, she recounts being a reluctant hostage at a friend's back-alley Botox appointment and chats about cursed Tory Burch sweaters and Roomba-riding cats. Ellis floats effortlessly between hilarity and wholesomeness while comparing menopause to the psychic in Poltergeist, grading her marriage on participation, and casually revealing that the secret ingredient is never love, just mayonnaise. Unpretentious and uplifting, Ellis's writing on friendship reads more like a conversation you'd have with your best friend than an essay by a stranger. VERDICT Readers looking for a new literary pal who's classy enough to wear pearls at the poker table, and brave enough to visit a crowded water park post-menopause, need look no further. Recommend to fans of Nora Ephron and Annabelle Gurwitch.--Alana Quarles, Fairfax County P.L., Alexandria, VA
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May 15, 2021
With titles such as "She's Young," "Grown-ass Ladies Gone Mild," and "I Feel Better about My Neck," it's evident aging weighs on the mind and psyche of best-selling humorist Ellis (Southern Lady Code, 2019). Whether she's skewering the indignities of menopause or grappling with the allure of Botox, Ellis tackles these annoyances as she does whatever else life tosses her way, with a simmering sense of "what the heck?" tempered by a bubbly dose of "why the heck not?" Growing older may be getting under her distressingly sagging skin, but soldiering on is made so much sweeter through treasured friendships, old and new, and embracing the healing power of kindred spirits. With the ongoing pandemic, many are in need of a good laugh. Thankfully, Ellis' essays deliver hilarity on every page, providing the perfect way to get one's socially distanced jollies. A seasoned Manhattanite by way of Alabama, Ellis entertains with a spicy blend of good-ol'-gal snark and seasoned urban savvy, disarming folks with her tongue-in-cheek Southern belle charm and shocking the unsuspecting with her flinty, no-nonsense persona.
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May 15, 2021
The author of American Housewife and Southern Lady Code cuts loose with uproarious observations on friendship, middle age, and her own life. In this essay collection, Ellis considers her everyday world from the perspective of a quirky midlife Southern woman who sees the lighter side of everything, including dire situations. In the first piece, "Grown-Ass Ladies Gone Mild," the author recounts a series of excursions with childhood friends. Just before the first trip, one friend was diagnosed with breast cancer. Through quasi-adolescent hijinks--including zany water park rides, an evening at a Smoky Mountain theater watching Long Island Medium Theresa Caputo, and a text-message celebration of the friend's new breast implants--Ellis and her friends strengthened their "lady gang" bonds in defiance of death. Another essay, "Are You There Menopause? It's Me, Helen" satirizes Judy Blume's classic, Are Your There God? It's Me, Margaret. Ellis observes how the unpredictable, sometimes embarrassing bodily changes brought on by the climacteric are just like puberty. The only difference is that women, rather than boys, are "the ones who get a mustache." Other essays showcase the author's deadpan humor, such as the mock-manifesto "I'm a Believer!" There, Ellis lets her "freak flag" fly and writes, "I believe in what goes around comes around, reincarnation, and time travel, so my idea of heaven is being Betty White on Match Game." In "There's a Lady at the Poker Table," Ellis cheerfully details how the same Southern lady "primness" she undercuts throughout the book helped make her a formidable opponent in the all-male world of high-stakes poker. This smart, sassy, page-turning collection will appeal to fans of the author's work as well as anyone who enjoys the quick-witted jocularity of a singular Southern woman who refuses to let anything--or anyone--get her down. Like her previous books, this one is darkly hilarious and nearly always on-point.
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