Sugar in My Bowl: Real Women Write about Real Sex

When it comes to sex, what do women want? In this eye-opening and courageous collection, Erica Jong reveals that every woman has her own answer.

Susan Cheever talks about the "excruciating hazards of casual sex," while Gail Collins recounts her Catholic upbringing in Cincinnati and the nuns who passionately forbade her from having "carnal relations." In "Everything Must Go," Jennifer Weiner explores how, in love, the body can play just as big a role as the heart. The octogenarians in Karen Abbott's sharp-eyed piece possess a passion that could give Betty White a run for her money. Molly Jong-Fast reflects on her unconventional upbringing and why a whole generation of young women has rejected "free love" in favor of Bugaboo strollers and Mommy-and-me yoga.

Sex, it turns out, can be as fleeting, heavy, mundane, and intense as the rest of life. Indeed, as Jong herself writes in her powerful introduction, "the truth is—sex is life."

Poet, novelist, and essayist, the legendary Erica Jong—whose novel Fear of Flying opened eyes and broke down walls—offers us a provocative collection of essays about sex from some of the most respected female authors writing today. “Real Women Write about Real Sex” in Sugar in My Bowl, as such marquee names as Gail Collins, Eve Ensler, Daphne Merken, Anne Roiphe, Liz Smith, Naomi Wolf, and Jennifer Weiner, to name but a few, join together to speak openly about female desire—what provokes it and what satisfies it. In the free, unfettered spirit of The Bitch in the House, Sugar in My Bowl explores the bedroom lives of women with daring, wit, intelligence, and candor.

Erica Jong is an award-winning poet, novelist, and essayist best known for her eight bestselling novels, including the international bestseller Fear of Flying. She is also the author of seven award-winning collections of poetry.