Customer Reviews

Too Much of a Good Thing Is Wonderful

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Deemed a "Feminist Humor Maven" by Ms. magazine, Dr. Regina Barreca once again delights us with another jaw-dropping, wise and witty collection of essays. Too Much of a Good Thing Is Wonderful tackles the dangerous issues that affect us all, but that we have been afraid or unsure of how to discuss. If you or someone you know is moving back home after college, raising step-children, changing careers, facing surgery, starting/ending a relationship, is Italian-American or has immigrant parents, you will love and appreciate Barreca's clarity, honesty and animation. She inspires and empowers women (and men!) of all ages, because she finds deeper meaning behind daily routine, and you will never diet, precisely apply lipstick, watch a horror movie, tune-in to what amounts to "house porn," despise the woman having an affair with your husband, view the "good girl" reputation, think about your father, mother, or brother in the same way again. Barreca's essays are provacative and life-altering. They will evoke tears and laughter (but mostly tears from laughter). I could (and have) read the book again and again!

Insightful, intimate, and funny. I feel as though I know Regina - on a first name basis! As she traces much of her life through a series of personal essays that cover everything from ottoman shaped aunts in the kitchens of her youth to sleepless nights in a lazy Connecticut town, Regina shows how complicated, scary, yet beautiful life can be. I would recommend "Too Much of a Good Thing is Wonderful" to anyone who has ever loved, lost, feared or conquered. In other words, I would recommend it to everyone.

I laughed aloud at so many phrases/sentences/paragraphs, the pages are worn out. One of the funniest things, though, was unintentional, I'm sure. I was using a large paper clip to keep the pages from falling out of her book, when on page 101 Regina refers to pages falling out of an old paperback book with cheap binding...same publisher?

Regina is an inspiration to all writers, published or not.