Ill-Equipped for a Life of Sex : A Memoir

Rating:
Summary: Like Watching a Car Accident
Review: After reading this book, it became clear to me why the divorce rate is 50 percent. Though the writing is fresh and zippy, the plot is quite sad. Jennifer Lehr seems like an interesting, bright person, but the airing of dirty laundry is painfully narcissistic and sophomoric. What's even more disturbing is the cold, detatched tone the book takes, as though this was happening to someone else. It reminded me a little bit of Prozac Nation. I kept thinking, "That poor husband!" but we all make our choices...

Rating:
Summary: Not even worth one star
Review: Are you kidding me? Who wrote these 5-star reviews? I'm guessing the answer to my question is: "her friends." This book has lines like: "Tom was upset, and I was upset. We had a great time." How anyone could sit down and read this entire book is beyond me. Reading about this self-absorbed woman and her husband were almost more than I could take - ugh! Will her next book be about their messy divorce? Please publishers, spare me the details. I do not want to be punished again. Save your money for real writers.

Rating:
Summary: Honest, raw, truthful, and blunt...
Review: Being a fan of non-fiction, I scoured through the bookstore trying to find something I had not yet read AND something that was not related to anything involving politics or war. To my surprise, the cover of Jennifer Lehr's book stood out to me, so much so that I had to pick it up and check it out. I am so thankful that I did.

Not only does Jennifer's sense of humor parallel to many women in our society today, but she takes on the issues that most women, even in today's society, fear tackling. In a normal contrived setting, like that of Dr. Phil or Oprah, many women are comfortable yet hesitant to discuss sex and love in ANY negative sense. With the rise of shows like 'Sex and the City,' women are urged to discuss their sex and love lives, but never in a sense of neglect. Jennifer tackled this whole-heartedly, bluntly, and without regret. After all, her book is not telling women how to get a man, how to keep a man, or how to be attractive for a man. She speaks as an independent woman who knows what she wants in life and is not afraid to get it without compromising who she really is.

I would recommend this to anyone, male or female, who enjoy an honest gripping read, one without false pretense or pretty wrapping paper of a 'perfect' life. In a world of reality TV shoved down your throat, it's refreshing to not only read a REAL real story, but to have it be so 'out there' and 'in your face' that you find it endearing and realize that sometimes skeletons do not belong in closets. Your secrets, fears, wonders, and dramas need to be exposed sometimes; that's when you find yourself. I truly think Jennifer did that with this book.

You won't be bored and you'll find yourself spending an insane amount of time reading this in one sitting. Be prepared to laugh, to cry, and to say, "Oh my God, I've felt like that too!" The naked truth is always far better than fiction and Jennifer shows her soul. Who couldn't admire that?

Rating:
Summary: The Courage To Tell the Truth
Review: I absolutely loved it. Couldn't put it down!

I tried to find excuses for reading it when I was supposed to be working. I exercised longer on my stationary bike just to have time to read it. Loved, loved, loved it.

Throughout I kept thinking, "Thank God there's a woman who's honestly talking about the female sexual experience and the mind games we women play on ourselves during the whole confusing process of dealing with men and their body parts. Thank God it's not just me. And that was a great emotional relief.

Lehr has the divine courage to tell the truth - which has the power to free people who read it..who now, like me, don't feel so alone. That is the greatest gift you can give to anyone! Amazing!

Rating:
Summary: Takes "self-absorbed" and "inane" to new lows
Review: I wasn't sure it was possible in our Jerry Springer world, but Lehr has taken the "fun" out of dysfunctional! Despite its racy subject (sex), this book is grindingly dull and unreadable. Even skimming it is torturous, given that Lehr has no writing talent and no command of the English language and grammar. (Enough with the hyphens, use of "his/hers," and swear words!) I've labored over who-cares memoirs (like Katy Lederer's Poker Face), but Lehr's book redefines the category.

I'm left wondering: Which is more ludicrous--that Lehr thought anyone would be interested in reading about her pathetic, immature relationships or that a publisher paid her to write about it? It would all be laughable if Lehr didn't take herself and her situations so seriously. No such luck.





Rating:
Summary: WOW!
Review: Lehr is a real writer! Reading this book I learned some great things from
her experiences in therapy. And I laughted a lot. Lehr is an amazingly
uninhibited woman!. I am truly inspired by her honesty.

Rating:
Summary: never a dull moment
Review: this book is a gem, a gift, a real treat!!

I don't understand how the last reviewer can say that the book is cold and detached because I cried all the way through the last few chapters and you know a book's powerful when it makes you cry. There's so much to say about this book. I love how candid Lehr is. How honest and straight and how well she conveys her thoughts and thought processes. i love the real (and real-life) journey it took me on- there was a real-time, right there with you feeling. It's very strong and sweet and funny and insightful and smart over and over. it has a very happy ending that's actually in the end not at all mushy. And back to the last reviewer re: the divorce rate. Yes! This books shows us not only why the divorce rate is soo high but also how to make it lower! Without preaching. This book hits home though our experiences are entirely different. And that is why the sharing of her story is not at all "sophmoric" or "narcisstic" but rather a very generous gift. mature and intellegent.

Rating:
Summary: Proust meets Dorothy Parker
Review: This book is good on every level. Not only is it a compelling and fun read, but it's also enlightening because Lehr is willing to explore and question even the sacrosanct levels of relationships usually kept at a safe, aspirational distance. "Ill-Equipped ..." reveals these accepted delusions and should be required reading for anyone interested in doing commitment better. The book touches on so much so honestly and effectively. Lehr is a gutsy, energetic and seemingly effortless writer, her tone accessible and universal. I'd put it up there with Proust and Dorothy Parker with regard to its humor and social insights. This is an important book.

Rating:
Summary: As Real As It Gets
Review: This is not for the squeamish, but for anyone who has ever struggled in love, Jennifer Lehr's book tells a real story with unblinking frankness. What makes this memorable--and really worth reading--is that Jennifer shares the truth about what it takes to make a partnership work. We rarely start any relationship unencumbered from our own (or our parent's and their parents') issues about how love is supposed to feel, how we are supposed to be treated, etc. Figuring it out can be a messy, difficult process. And yet, for all the books that masquerade as romance, Jennifer's is the first book that tells it as it is, with an amazingly frankness that takes clever, humorous stock of the way her inherited attitudes about love, money and sex shape her through her dating years and into marriage.

This book is an insider's experience; funny, true and lively insights you won't read anywhere else.

Rating:
Summary: What brutal honesty! What courage! What a gift.
Review: Through a mere coincidence, I happened upon this book with a very seductive cover jacket. I picked it up and didn't put it down. Never have I read a journal into someone's world, their soul, written without judgments. Along with this blooming insight that makes one question all their relationships ... from sexual to that most intimate. Mrs. Lehr, thank you! You've increased my understanding of patience in the trying times and bumpy rocks of our love's path.