The May Queen: Women on Life, Love, Work, and Pulling It All Together in Your 30s

In these previously unpublished essays, writers, artists, musicians, filmmakers, actors and businesswomen in their 30s take stock of their lives and "consider what they have lost, what they have gained, and what they still need to learn." Ivy Meeropol discusses making a documentary about her grandparents Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, who were in their 30s when they were executed for treason in 1953. Heather Juergensen wonders if she'll be the type of actor who takes the risk of aging naturally; and Veronica Chambers, who is now happily married after ignoring the advice of countless self-help dating books, knows that it's "okay to fall head over heels for one loser after another." Flor Morales, who runs a housecleaning service, fled an alcoholic husband in El Salvador for a new life in California; and prochoice activist Jennifer Baumgardner never considered an abortion when she learned she was unexpectedly pregnant, while Tanya Shaffer scrapped her plans for artificial insemination when the right man proposed marriage. This perceptive if uneven collection gathered by freelance writer and editor Richesin will speak frankly to 30-something readers as they make critical decisions about their own lives. (Apr.)