Shiksa Goddess

Celebrated playwright and magnetic wit Wendy Wasserstein has been firmly rooted in New York’s cultural life since her childhood of Broadway matinees, but her appeal is universal. Shiksa Goddess collects thirty-five of her urbane, inspiring, and deeply empathic essays–all written when she was in her forties, and all infused with her trademark irreverent humor.

The full range of Wasserstein’s mid-life obsessions are covered in this eclectic collection: everything from Chekhov, politics, and celebrity, to family, fashion, and real estate. Whether fretting over her figure, discovering her gentile roots, proclaiming her love for ordered-in breakfasts, lobbying for affordable theater, or writing tenderly about her very Jewish mother and her own daughter, born when she was forty-eight and single, Wasserstein reveals the full, dizzying life of a shiksa goddess with unabashed candor and inimitable style.
“Perceptive. . . . Sweet. . . . The often-poignant writing embraces wit, tragedy, joy.” –The Miami Herald

“Sparkling. . . . Wasserstein comes off . . . warm and honest, unassuming and modest. She’s the quirky, cool aunt you always wished were your mom.” –The Boston Phoenix

“Wendy Wasserstein writes with a heart as big as The Ritz. . . . These funny, truly intimate and uncommonly passionate pieces are a model of their kind.” –Terrance McNally

“Gut-wrenching, life-affirming . . . show[s] how powerful good writing can really be.” –New York Post