Sleeping With Bad Boys

This book was given to me by a friend with similar taste and interests, but i still had an impression that it would be a seedy, sordid tell-all of substandard quality. As it turned out it was the complete opposite. Alice Denham is a masterful writer who has lived an extraordinary life and has a knack for story telling.

She tells an amazing story throughout, but I most enjoyed the the first third of the book in which she described how, as a young adult she broke with her parents and made a bold decision to move to New York City and making a go of it as a professional writer. She goes on to give a fascinating account of New York City in the late 40s and early 50s, when Norman Mailer was sowing his oats and co-founded the Village Voice

Her subsequent experiences with years of hard work, modeling by day and writing by night show her dedication to her calling, energy and discipline with which she broke through to get herself a book deal by the 1970s.

Denham is a great power of example for young writers everywhere. Not only because she has an intriguing and inspirational story to tell, but more so because of how she tells it. Denham is completely honest, straightforward and unabashed in the telling. She knows who she is and represents herself with a grace and dignity that show she knows herself well and has transcended the norms and mores imposed during her upbringing and of the 50s era. That's truly a lesson for us all