Book description
By age thirty-seven, Cathy Alter had made a mess of her life. With a
failed marriage already under her belt, she was continuing down the path
of poor decisions, one paved with a steady stream of junk food, unpaid
bills, questionable friends, and highly inappropriate men. So she sat
down and asked herself what she truly wanted.
A decent guy. A nicer home. More protein
. When she took a closer look at her wants, she noticed something that
seemed very familiar -- with the addition of exclamation points, her
list could easily be transformed into the cover lines on every women's
magazine: Find the love you deserve! Paint to the rescue! Eggs-actly
perfect meals!
So Cathy gave over her life to the glossies for the next twelve
months, resolving to follow their advice without question. By the end
of her subscriptions, she would get rid of upper-arm jiggle, crawl out
of debt, host the perfect dinner party, run a mile without puking,
engage in better bathtub booty, ask for a raise, and rehaul her
apartment.
Well, at least that was the premise of her social experiment. What
actually happened was much less about cosmetic change and much more
about internal transformation. Singular in its voice and yet
completely universal, Up for Renewal will appeal to all who
have ever wondered if they could actually make their life over.
"You know that warm, relaxed, pleasurable
feeling you get when cracking open the latest issue of your favorite
magazine? That's what reading Cathy Alter's Up for Renewal is
like. Prepare to not only have a great time but also to get truly
inspired." -- Mandy Stadtmiller, "About Last Night"
New York Post columnist
Cathy Alter is a Washington, D. C.-based writer
whose articles and essays have appeared in The Washington Post,
Washingtonian, Self, Fitness, and McSweeney's. Her first
book, Virgin Territory: Stories from the Road to Womanhood, was
released in 2004.
