As steely eyed in examining her own life as she is in skewering our cultural pitfalls, Roiphe gives us autobiographical pieces that are by turns, deeply moving, self-critical, razor-sharp, entertaining and unapologetic in their defence of 'messy lives'.

In Praise of Messy Lives is a powerfully unified, vital work from one of our most astute and essayists writing today.

Some shelf wear and foxing.