Melissa Febos

"When her body began to change at eleven years old, Febos understood immediately that her meaning to other people had changed with it. By her teens, she defined herself based on these perceptions and by the romantic relationships she threw herself into headlong. Over time, Febos increasingly questioned the stories she'd been told about herself and the habits and defenses she'd developed over years of trying to meet others' expectations ... Blending...

"In her critically acclaimed memoir, Whip Smart, Melissa Febos laid bare the intimate world of the professional dominatrix, turning an honest examination of her life into a lyrical study of power, desire, and fulfillment. In [this book], Febos captures the intense bonds of love and the need for connection-- with family, lovers, and oneself. First, her birth father, who left her with only an inheritance of addiction and Native American blood, its...

"From a critically acclaimed group of writers comes an essay collection about what they wish they could share with their mothers--the hilarious, the painful, the awkward, and the downright messy. Raw and poignant, this is an anthology that will resonate with anyone who's ever had a mother." -- Back cover. "As an undergraduate, Michele Filgate started writing an essay about being abused by her stepfather. It took her more than a decade to realize...

Presents a collection of the year's best essays as selected by best-selling author Alexander Chee.