Middle Age, Men, Women & Relationships - Humor, Psychology & Self Help - Humor, Phases of Life - Humor

Today I am a ma'am

Name: Today I am a ma'am
Author: Rick Tulka
ISBN: 9780060199296

by Rick Tulka

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Overview

Valerie Harper has a message for women of a certain age: "Work those laugh lines!" With the irreverence and wit that made her one of television's most beloved personalities, Harper (a.k.a. Rhoda Morgenstern) takes on those phony "fabulous at 50" books written by women whose skin is free of laugh lines and who wouldn't know a cellulite pocket if it bit them on the backside. With her trademark shoot-from-the-hip, call-'em-like-she-sees-'em style, she helps women celebrate, with humor and grace, what it means to be middle aged.

Harper's essays explore the treacherous terrain women must travel — from the tyrannies of fashion to the unmentionables of menopause. She tackles the most perplexing questions of the day: If you wear a size zero, do you exist? Would menopause be revered if it happened to men? Do calories count if you eat standing up? Are dressing rooms fitted with fun house mirrors? Today I Am a Ma'am is the perfect antidote to the youth obsession of our culture, offered by America's most reliable girlfriend. It is Humor Replacement Therapy for midlife women, a book you can pick up when ever you need a laugh or a reminder that midriff drift is not the end of the world.

About the Author, Rick Tulka

Valerie Harper played the memorable Rhoda Morgenstern first on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and then on her own spin-off series, Rhoda, for nine years. During that time she won four Emmys, a Golden Globe, Harvard University's Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year Award, and the Hollywood Women's Press Club "Golden Apple" Award. She lives in Beverly Hills.

Catherine Whitney is a New York-based writer who has written or cowritten more than forty books on a wide range of topics. She is the author of The Calling: A Year in the Life of an Order of Nuns and the coauthor with nine female U.S. senators of Nine and Counting: The Women of the Senate.

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Editorials

From Barnes & Noble

The Barnes & Noble Review
This honest, inspiring book proves once and for all that getting older is not the end of the world. Actress Valerie Harper tackles middle age with wit and confidence in Today I Am a Ma'am, a must-read for women everywhere. Avoiding the usual sappy self-help clichés, Harper, best known for her wonderful television show Rhoda, pokes fun at everything from wrinkles to menopause in this hilarious and eye-opening book.

The secret to enjoying what Harper calls the "let-it-all-hang-out years" lies in realizing that in spite of what our youth-worshipping culture tells us, getting older does not mean losing your good looks, energy, and passion for life. If you still aren't quite ready to embrace your advancing age, Harper's comic touch will help you let go of your most troubling anxieties. Worried about those crow's feet and laugh lines? "Wrinkles should be a sign of having lived," Harper asserts. How about trying to keep up with cutting-edge fashion? "Every year the heels get higher and the podiatrists get richer."

Harper's down-to-earth approach to middle age is more than a refreshing read -- it's a blueprint for taking a realistic, healthy, and positive attitude toward aging. Finding the humor in your little imperfections might not be easy, but with Today I Am a Ma'am as your guidebook, you can learn how to get the most out of your life no matter what your age. (Julie Carr)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Once readers get over the shock that Harper (who won four Emmy awards playing Rhoda Morgenstern on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Rhoda) is now in her 60s, her gently funny and age-positive ruminations will soothe the aftershock ("How old does that make me?"). This light, sincere, cartoon-filled guide for "women of a certain age" pokes fun at this age group's lack of representation in films (Jane Fonda responds, "What's the worst thing about being a beautiful, glamorous star over fifty? Watching each year as Bob Redford's leading ladies get younger and younger") and plastic surgery mania ("The transformation isn't from old to young. It's from old to scary"). Mainly, though, the book celebrates an age at which women can finally relax. Following advice from Ruth Gordon ("I decided to get older instead of getting old. Because old is a destination; older is a process and a path"), Harper embraces her "senior moments" and droopy upper arms and thighs that are "like dimpled twin dough boys, nestled together against the cold." Wry and wise, Harper dares women to be "real" and reminds us that those "fabulous at 50" women on magazine covers have a hidden crew of professionals and technicians who labor to produce that look. (On sale date: Apr. 10) Forecast: Thanks to Harper's high-profile name and the public's enduring affection for her TV persona, which comes through on paper, Harper's book will have a ready audience among baby boomers and other fans. To boost sales, Harper will go on a seven-city tour, appear on Today (Apr. 16) and Rosie (Apr. 17), and receive feature coverage in People and Parade. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.