The Bridge Ladies: A Memoir - Hardcover

"Lerner's memoir makes a case for spending time together under the rules of neutrality imposed by a game, and approach to living that refrains from over-sharing and outward complaining to concentrate on the task at hand. The bridge ladies are there for one another, even as they keep their feelings to themselves and play on."--New York Times Book Review

"A heartfelt and affecting memoir."--Washington Post

"A smart and colorful memoir."--Maureen Corrigan, NPR's Fresh Air

"A deeply affecting memoir...a generous and honest examination, she honors these women's lives"--Boston Globe

"In her absorbing memoir, Lerner probes marriage, career, motherhood, depression, aging, death, religion and sex, discovering that, although the Bridge Ladies' generation differs from hers, they share common values of love and kinship. This beautifully written, bittersweet story of ladies of a certain age and era will have wide appeal."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"A book for two generations."--Dallas Morning News

"The Bridge Ladies is an uplifting account of a baby boomer's attempt to understand her mother's generation. Lerner never lets herself off the hook, either, and the result is candid, fresh and enlightening."--Providence Journal

"Through the alchemy of a grand game, Betsy Lerner has woven a universal coming-of-age story for both mother and daughter. A poignant, humorous and often painful struggle through the pageantry of playing cards; a woman's face on every one."--Patti Smith, author of Just Kids and M Train

"Betsy Lerner's ladies are our ladies, our mothers, grandmothers, and aunts. Lerner takes us back to their tables, capturing a group of wonderful American women--growing older now and braving new battles--with sweetness, humor and sharp perceptiveness. This is a book with heart and feeling."--George Hodgman, author of Bettyville

"Lerner takes us on a journey of understanding: the card game, the women who play it, their lives and relationships. In Lerner's beautifully observed account, Bridge becomes both a literal and figurative pathway to repairing an even more precious bond: her own relationship to her mother."--Deborah Tannen, author of You Just Don't Understand and You're Wearing THAT?