Few writers today have created more  stir than Daphne Merkin--admired as much for her personal daring on the page as for the wit and power of her prose. Whether writing about the sexual pleasures of spanking (a piece that elicited a storm of response when it appeared in The New Yorker), losing her religion, her obsession with rock 'n' roll, her own failed marriage, or other vexed subjects, she is always tough-minded, compulsively readable, and at times recklessly candid. From her own cosmetic surgery "fix"  to her flirtation with the idea of lesbianism, from the subversive thrill of shoplifting to the hidden madness of family life--she takes on the taboos and sacred cows we're fascinated by but seldom talk about. The bold and startling title essay, in which she confronts the demons of the Holocaust, is an example of this gifted writer at her most intensely self-probing but profoundly engaged with the world at large.

Once in a while a writer appears who can immerse herself in the complex, raging currents of her time and make sense of them. In this dazzling collection of maverick essays--at once bracingly intelligent, morally reflective, and richly entertaining--Daphne Merkin illuminates the often tragicomic secrets that tell the true story of the way we live now.