Pearlman mines a universal vein in her bluntly honest memoir of infidelity, which tells the tale of the effects of marital infidelity across three generations of American women: her grandmother, her mother, and herself.
As the women coped with the intensity the father and grandfathers adulteries added, Ann learned of the wisdom, pain, and female strength the mens behavior provoked.
As the 1960s rolled in with the sexual political revolution, Ann lived "la dolce vita" in Europe. Following the construction of the Berlin Wall, she returned to the US to complete her studies. She fell in love with Tyrone, an African-American professional football player and artist, and together they took part in the civil rights movement. They helped each other obtain graduate degrees and forged dual careers, raising adopted and biological children. Tyrone became a University professor teaching painting and Ann became a psychotherapist and marriage and family counselor. She wrote a book on the joys of sexual monogamy and embarked on an authors tour appearing on TV talk shows (Oprah, Donahue, Sally Jesse Raphael) as an expert on marriage.
Then, as the twentieth century was drawing to a close, their ten-year-old daughter discovered her fathers affair with a married Japanese woman from a distinguished family. Once again, Ann was forced to revisit infidelity, an echo from the previous generation.
Infidelity: a Memoir is the book every married man and woman should. Ann Pearlman is on her way to becoming a major literary voice.
