Free Advice [Paperback]

Amy Alkon (Author), Caroline Johnson (Author), Marlowe Minnick (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1996

Three sassy, single women who dispense free advice on the streets of New York City offer words of wisdom on such topics as writing and deciphering a personal ad, staging a seduction, and the best ways to escape from a nightmare date. 60,000 first printing. Tour.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

It all started in downtown Manhattan one Saturday afternoon in 1988 when three New York advertising agency employees offered advice to a lovelorn waiter. Soon they had set up shop on a Soho corner, peddling "Free Advice" on anything from "Getting Rid of Your Jerk" to "Involuntary Hair Loss" and "Dog Couture." Quickly, the three--Amy Alkon, Marlowe Minnic, and Caroline Johnson--became a big hit, and before you could say "human interest," they were making the talk-show circuit and being featured in the Living sections of metropolitan dailies from coast to coast. Surprisingly perhaps, the advice ladies' no-longer-quite-as-free advice plays just fine on the page, even without the ambience of that Soho street corner. Whether they're categorizing jerks or offering tips on where not to break up ("somewhere distant where you've driven in one car" ), they manage to combine humor and commonsensical advice, always remembering that taking any problem too seriously is the biggest mistake of all. Ilene Cooper

From the Publisher

It all started in a Manhattan diner. A lovelorn waiter sought advice fromthe three sassy women he was serving--and The Advice Ladies were born.Inspired by their success with the young man, they set up a table on a streetcorner in Soho and began to offer their expert advice services tostrangers--free of charge! Soon advice seekers came in droves asking anythingand everything about romance. Hilariously captured in Free Advice, TheAdvice Ladies offer their pearls of wisdom on these and other subjects:

>Love & Dating (also Marriage)
>Getting Rid of Your Jerk
>Wardrobe & Makeovers
>Proper Etiquette
>Wigs & Beards
>The Personals
>Meeting People
>Entertaining
>New Identities
>Cheap Dates
>Recessionary Lifestyles
>Jealousy
>Talking to Strangers
>Office Romance
>Getting Dumped
>Staging a Seduction
>Conflict Management
>Personal Merchandising
>Negativity Lessons (Learning to Say "NO")

From their confidential files, their personal experiences, and their unfailinginsight, Amy, Caroline, and Marlowe show everyone how to bypass years oftherapy and attack their problems head-on. Move over, Dear Abby, here come theAdvice Ladies!
Copyright 1996 by Amy Alkon, Caroline Johnson and Marlowe Minnick.

Product Details

• Paperback: 258 pages
• Publisher: Dell (June 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440507510
• ISBN-13: 978-0440507512
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.8 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,868,270 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Advice . . ., August 22, 2002

By 

Chris Parker (Westminster West, VT) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Free Advice (Paperback)

I come back to this book again and again. I've owned it for several years. Every time I need a dose of perspective and reality about relationships, it always provides. It's tone is light, it's very well written and presented, but the content is right-on. It is like turning to a wise friend who won't hold back the truth.