Memoir of an Independent Woman : An Unconventional Life Well Lived

It takes a certain kind of woman to have the courage to defy societal conventions. In an era when her female counterparts were still expected to marry early and have children, Tania Grossinger set out on her own. This is her story. When you reach the age where there is more to look back at than forward to, what do you regret, if anything? One woman's brave memoir about a life well lived. It takes a certain kind of woman to have the courage to defy societal conventions. In an era when her female counterparts were still expected to marry early and have children, Tania Grossinger set out on her own. This is her story. After spending her childhood at the famous Grossinger's resort in the Catskills, Tania Grossinger was the publicist for the groundbreaking The Feminine Mystique (over four million copies sold), spent seven years as the Director of Broadcast Promotion for Playboy Magazine and the Playboy Club, did PR for The $64,000 Question, escaped her first marriage, and went to live in Mexico—and that's only the beginning. Rubbing shoulders with some of America's most famous figures, what Tania has to reveal about Ayn Rand (she has a sense of humor after all), Timothy Leary, Jackie Robinson, Hugh Hefner, and the unsolved disappearance of a fellow travel writer in Jamaica, will keep you up at night turning the pages of one of the most interesting women to put pen to paper in recent memory. The female incarnation of Forrest Gumpher life reads like a trip back through the defining personalities and events of the 20th century. Shoreline Times After coming of age at the legendary Grossingers resort hotel in the Catskills, Tania Grossinger defied the conventions of an era. When women were routinely consigned to focusing exclusively on husband and family, Tania chose her own path. She started in public relations for The $64,000 Question , the TV show that was the focus of the infamous quiz show scandals; she was the publicist for Betty Friedans groundbreaking bestseller, The Feminine Mystique ; and, for seven years, served as the director of broadcast promotion for Playboy Magazine and the Playboy Club. And that was only the beginning. After escaping her marriage, she embarked on the next chapter of her life. Along the way she crossed paths with such iconic figures as Ayn Rand, Jackie Robinson, Joan Rivers, Timothy Leary, and Johnny Carson. Tania would also became embroiled in a real-life mystery: the unsolved disappearance of Claudia Kirschhoch, a fellow travel writer who vanished without a trace from their beachside hotel on the western tip of Jamaica. Of her first memoir, Growing Up at Grossingers , the Jewish Daily Forward said Tanias childhood wasLike a version of Kay Thomson's Plaza Hotel-dwelling Eloise by way of 'Dirty Dancing. Now, written as an open letter to an imaginary daughter, Tania reflects on growing beyond in a smart, funny, and revealing account of ignoring expectations and becoming a truly independent woman. "A tale of a young woman battling the stereotype of women living and working in the 'swinging sixties' and a road map of how she kept sane and successful in the real world of 'mad men.'"--Sharon Hazard, WomanAroundTown.com It takes a special kind of woman to have the courage to defy societal conventions. In an era when her female counterparts were still expected to marry early and have children, Tania Grossinger set out on her own. After spending her childhood at the famous Grossinger's resort in the Catskills, Tania Grossinger was the publicist for the groundbreaking The Feminine Mystique (over three million copies sold), spent seven years as the director of broadcast promotion for Playboy Magazine and the Playboy Club, did PR for The $64,000 Question, escaped her first marriage, and went to live in Mexico- and that's only the beginning. Rubbing shoulders with some of America's most famous figures, what Tania has to reveal about Ayn Rand (she has a sense of humor after all), Timothy Leary, Hugh Hefner, and the unsolved disappearance of a fellow travel writer in Jamaica will keep you up at night turning the pages of one of the most interesting women to put pen to paper in recent memory. As she reflects on her life now, Tania is single and one of "two million of us Americans who are childless by choice." The memoir is addressed to Natasha, on whose absence the book hinges. But who is she' Smart, sensitive, and revealing, this is a must-read memoir for any woman who has ever strived for independence