The Doctor Is In: Dr. Ruth on Love, Life, and Joie de Vivre

Part memoir and part life manual, the latest from renowned sex therapist Dr. Westheimer (Sexually Speaking) uses stories from her remarkable, often arduous journey to instruct readers on embracing positivity. Orphaned after the Holocaust, Westheimer ventured to British-ruled Palestine, where she trained as a sniper in the Haganah paramilitary organization and was injured in an air raid on her 20th birthday. In Paris, Westheimer enrolled at the Sorbonne before relocating to New York’s New School. She raised her daughter alone, having divorced her first husband. Her career trajectory included stints as a Planned Parenthood research assistant, a radio and television host, and an Ivy League instructor. She includes plenty of amusing anecdotes, including encounters with celebrities such as Barbra Streisand (whom Westheimer fails to recognize) and Paul McCartney, and a Jean Paul Gaultier fashion show where she is upstaged by a topless Madonna. Dispensing relationship tips, Westheimer discusses boredom, appropriate fantasies, and unrequited love, the “joie de vivre killer.” She writes that tragedy has instilled in her the importance of “feeling the full range of emotions” and living life to the fullest in honor of those who have died. While Westheimer has covered some of this ground previously, her wit and brassy style breathe new life into familiar self-help material. (June)