The women in my life are readers. My mom, an attorney, enjoys the newest legal thrillers when she's not reading oh-so-interesting tax law or going over a divorce agreement. My cousin, ever the intellectual, reads more than her fair share of the latest political-opinion nonfiction and the New York Times. My good friend likes to fill her brain with that literary candy known as chic-lit. And being an English Major myself, I can't stay away from Hemingway, Yeats and the Pulitzers (when I'm not reading erotica, that is).
But no matter what a woman gravitates toward, no matter what her chosen genre of the written word may be, we all need a good laugh once in a while.
EnterSuburban Diva: From the Real Side of the Picket Fence by Tracey Henry.
Suburban Diva is very smart and incredibly entertaining. The book is made up of vignettes, each anywhere from one to three pages long, and it paints a very funny picture of Tracey Henry (or should we call her Suburban Diva) and her life. It's an ideal companion to a trip to the beach with a Corona or a nice swing on the hammock on the deck, iced tea in hand. It would even fit well in the glove compartment, to be pulled out while waiting for a haircut or in line.
Suburban Diva's (SD's) personality is expressed in different ways throughout the book. The shapshots are sometimes little stories, sometimes diatribes, sometimes miniature screenplays, sometimes poems and sometimes dialogues between the two alter egos, Henry and SD. The variety of writing styles keeps the book interesting and fresh.
All throughout the book there are little gems. These are the little snippets that truly caught my attention, and I would imagine that every woman would be attracted to something different. One of my personal favorites is when SD likens life to a drink. As a dirty gin martini drinker myself, this one tickled my heartstrings.
"Life is like a perfect Manhattan. A lady sips it slowly, enjoying its flavor without overindulging too often. There are little surprises like an extra maraschino along the way, and occasionally a pit or two might sneak in. However, if she sets her glass down for too long, the ice cubes will melt and it becomes a watered down version of its former complex self." (p. 32)
The perfect mother/wife/partner/sister/woman will not enjoy this book. Probably the most endearing aspect is that Henry not only admits her faults in the different aspects of her life, she embraces them with humor. Because she's honest, any real-life woman will be able to identify with at least some of what Henry writes about. Take for example, the little anecdote about when SD is talking to her too-perfect neighbor who wants SD to join the neighborhood garage sale.
SD explains: "I finally respond, 'That's not a good date for me, we have friends coming in town that weekend. Besides, I won't be sober until at least Sunday' She laughs nervously; both of us knowing that it is unfortunately true. Mr. SD (Henry's husband) laughs harder, knowing how much I am hating this." (p. 73)
There were times when Suburban Diva made me laugh out loud, especially when she describes her toddler, "Baby Diva," breaking a bottle of purple nail polish on the kitchen floor. While SD cleans up the mess, Baby Diva takes a bath in a bag of potato chips (p. 63). This little scene was very funny to me even though I don't have children (or perhaps, it was so funny to me because I don't have children).
Parts of From the Real Side of the Picket Fence are incredibly sweet and poignant, such as the scene that occurred a few weeks after SD's mother died. "On a fresh spring morning, I was watching him (SD's son) play out of an open window, a strong breeze blowing through the mesh screen... His eyes were closed, but his lips worked in animated movements." When SD asks her son who he's talking to and he tells her he's talking to Grandma, SD gets a little bit worried. The son explains, "No, I don't have to see her to know she's here. I always talk to her. She answers me with the wind."
Whether or not you're a mom, and whether or not you live in Suburbia, I recommend this read. There's a little bit of every woman in SD, and if nothing else, it will inspire you to treat yourself as the Diva you are.
Suburban Diva: From the Real Side of the Picket Fence, by Tracey Henry. Ephemera Bound Publishing, www.ephemera-bound.com. Copyright 2005, $13.99.
Or buy it used from Amazon.com starting at just $7.59.
Originally Published August 2006: Sweat