By Christiénne Miller

Wow, what a trip — is my overall reaction to this feminist masterpiece by the highly articulate and endearing Lynn Peril.

Reading this book is like having one of those glorious existential afternoons with a very close friend, which usually stretches into dinner and finishes with a bottle of wine and a good cry.

I simply love the way Peril writes — prolific, with an energetic stamina that makes the dense text easy to devour and digest. Her expert autopsy of the movement to realize the “ideal woman”, through carefully constructed “think pink” campaigns during the 1940s through the 1970s (with shocking similarities drawn to feminine propaganda in existence today), had me laughing, crying, and railing at the powers that have been, are here, and will be.

Another detail I appreciate about this brilliant book is that it doesn’t fall prey to the trappings of an all-out negative assault on “the establishment”, which many other works of the feminist genre seem to dissolve into.

Though, I must confess, I did find myself wanting to shout out “O.K. I get it, enough, please stop!” during some of the moments Peril takes to drive her points home, I highly recommend this book to every woman (and man for that matter) who has ever thought “What’s wrong with my mother?” or wonders where the often seemingly twisted rules on what it means to be a “real” or “natural” woman came from in the first place. You may also wish to put your therapist’s number on your favorites list (if it isn’t already there) for this one — it’s a mind blower.

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