"There are pleasures that mean as much to us now as the loin-generated ones." -Marion Winik |
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"My clothes were in boxes, books in the basement, toys in the garage. The paint was still wet on the walls of our new attic bedroom. The ink was still wet on my divorce papers and on our marriage certificate. And the stick was pink."
- Anne Burt
| About Gail Belsky I am primarily an editor, occasionally a writer, and the last person I'd expect to do a book about sex. Even now, I blush when people ask me the title. But two years  ago, when I had no freelance work on the horizon and was looking for a new editing project, a friend inadvertently gave me an idea. One night at dinner he confessed that he finds middle-aged women hot … not so much for their good looks (yeah, right?), but for their fascinating minds. He wasn't joking. He actually slows down at school bus stops to check out the moms, wondering what they are thinking about and what their lives are like. I couldn't believe it-which is exactly why I thought it would make a good book. The more I thought about what he said, the more I realized how much our view of love and desire changes in middle age. I may be modest, but I'm also curious. So I started sticking my nose into other writers' business, hoping they'd share their experiences. I heard some amazing stories -- many of them survivor tales. One writer lost a husband; another a child. One couple overcame impotence; another was nearly overcome by jealousy. Even the stories that were explicitly about sex were really about something more interesting: real life. I felt like I knew these writers even if I didn't. And I wanted other people to know them, too. It's been a terrific journey for me personally and professionally because it's brought me back to my favorite part of editing: working with incredible writers. While Over the Hill and Between the Sheets: Sex, Love and Lust in Middle Age is my first book, I've edited many magazines essays on a wide range of topics, from business ethics to parenting. They're my favorite pieces to work on because they're so intimate. I like writing them, too, for the same reason. For the collection The Imperfect Mom, I did a very emotional piece on circumcision. For the Philadelphia Inquirer I wrote a lighthearted column on Mother's Day. I loved doing them both. For anyone who gets this far and wants more info on me: I am an adjunct professor of journalism at Fordham University and an editorial consultant to such clients as Time Inc. and Meredith Corp. I've just started my first web-based consulting job as the managing editor of a parenting site called Kidcomplishment.com. I graduated from Boston University with a communications degree, spent six weeks as a daily newspaper reporter, twelve years as a business journalist, and six years as an editor specializing in family issues at Time Inc., as well as at Parents and Working Mother magazines. I grew up in New Jersey, where I now live with my husband and two children. |