Description: Acclaimed personal writing from one of our most out-spoken essayists, on disability, on family, on being an impolite woman, and on the opporunities and "gifts" of a difficult life.
Review Quotes: Eloquent and remarkable. . . .I closed Carnal Acts feeling a hundred times more prepared for whatever perils and joys lie ahead of me. --Barbara Kingsolver
"The heart of the book is the story of a highly intelligent and witty woman dealing with multiple sclerosis, a woman living in the grip of fear, confronting that fear and pushing through the terror to find joy. It is above all for this story--for the author's ability to see life whole--that the book should be read."--Laurie Graham, New York Times Book Review "A seamlessly constructed mix of autobiographical data, keyhole peeking, anger, affection and sheer grit."--Carol Freundlich, Bloomsbury Review "Mairs writes . . . with scrupulous, sometimes discomforting honesty--and often with an unruly wit. . . . Let us hope she will do so again." --Janet Kaye, Los Angeles Times Book Review