"Every man should read this book." -Jay Heinrichs, author of Thank You for Arguing 75 women writers, ages 20 to 89, were invited by editor Gina Barreca to make a party out of their life's most unnerving, challenging, illuminating, desperate, and hilarious moments. You know many of these brilliant women, but you've never heard them like this! With new works commissioned for the book from: Marge Piercy, NYT Bestseller and member of the American Academy of Poets Jane Smiley, Pulitzer-Prize winner Mimi Pond, NYT bestseller graphic artist Liza Donnelly, New Yorker staff cartoonist Fay Weldon, Commander of the British Empire Ilene Beckerman, bestselling author of Love, Loss, and What I Wore Nicole Hollander, Sylvia creator Lisa Landry and Leighann Lord, stand-up comics And many more! Political campaigners, devoted teachers, lousy daughters, good mothers, would-be nuns, admired sportswriters, grad-school-wanna-bes, revenge-driven sisters, frustrated roommates, body-fluid-sorting professionals, lace-loving fashion mavens, intrepid daters, hungry lovers, justice-seeking nasty-women, ACE wedding celebrants, trapped wives, and women with all kinds of ammunition tell their stories-and their stories are all under 750 words.

Fast Fallen Women includes 75 previously unpublished pieces on the topic of the ways in which women fall— whether they reach the boundaries of their lives and take flight, whether they stumble, or are pushed over the edge. Holding a compact mirror up to life, given that all the essays are under 750 words, the book bears witness to women's resilience, creativity, and wit as women write about rising up against all odds. With new and original works by Amy Tan, Jane Smiley, Bobbie Ann Mason, Caroline Leavitt, Darien Hsu Gee, Honor Moore, and Lynn Peril, as well as a dazzling range of emerging authors writing from diverse perspectives, ages 20-92,Fast Fallen Women gives whispered conversations a full voice.

Praise for Fast Funny Women , last year's breakout in the Fast Women Series, edited by Gina Barreca "If you're a woman and you like humor in your life-plus intelligence-get this book." -Nancy Thayer, author of Family Reunion "Every man should read this book." -Jay Heinrichs, author of Thank You for Arguing The 2nd book in the FAST WOMEN SERIES, with fierce new works from writers you know by heart-NYT bestselling novelist Caroline Leavitt, NPR's own Maureen Corrigan, award-winning poet Phillis Levin, stand-up comic Leighann Lord, Founder and Director of the Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop Teri Rizvi, playwright Beth Blatt, screenwriter Pamela Katz, activist and author Leslie Morgan Steiner, Rabbi Marisa Elana James, Pastor Jamie Spriggs, activist and teacher Ebony Murphy-Root-alongside other familiar and emerging authors whose original pieces were commissioned.

In a world where eye cream is made from placenta, Gina Barreca is the lone voice calling out 'But wait, whose placenta is it'? In this collection of deliciously quotable essays, Gina asks the big questions: Why is there no King Charming? Why does no bra ever fit? Why do people say 'cougar' like it's a bad thing? Why do we call it a glass ceiling when it's just a thick layer of men? Barreca packs a hilarious punch while gleefully rejecting emotional torture, embracing limitless laughter, and showing women how they can conquer the world with good friends ('It's not that diamonds are a girl's best friend, but a girl's best friends are diamonds'), sharp wit, great shoes, and not a single worry about visible panty lines.

One Man. One Woman.

10,000 Years of Misunderstanding Between the Sexes Cleared Right Up