Stephanie Klein – författare

Stephanie Klein was an eighth grader with a weight problem. It was a problem at school, where the boys called her "Moose," and it was a problem at home, where her father reminded her, "No one likes fat girls." After many frustrating sessions with a nutritionist known as the fat doctor of Roslyn Heights, Long Island, Klein''s parents enrolled her for a summer at fat camp. Determined to return to school thin and popular, without her "lard arms" and "puckered ham," Stephanie embarked on a memorable journey that would shape more than just her body. It would shape her life.

"I did have my own friends, my own salary, my health, and TiVo: all the important things we''re likely to take for granted. Still, when it hit that I''d now have to date again, I panicked. Dating meant nightclubs, heels, and black. It meant, ''No, thank you. Really, I''m full.'' It meant matching bras and underwear. Clothes with the micro used to describe them. Because until you date again, people will hiccup lines about getting back on horses. So you invest in an Agent Provocateur whip and a subscription to an online dating service. . . ."

--from Straight Up and Dirty

She had every girl''s dream: the perfect marriage to the perfect guy in the perfect apartment on the Upper East Side. Marriage fit Stephanie Klein like a glove . . . but unfortunately it fit her husband like a noose. And then, just like that, Klein found herself "divorced when you''re firm, fashionable, and let''s face it—fetching."

Celebrated bloggist, photographer, and freelance writer Stephanie Klein lets it all hang out in this juicy tell-all tracing her jump back into single life following her divorce. On the dating advice of her therapist, Klein attempts to keep "a pair and a spare" of men always on hand and has lots of bawdy fun along the way. But when the anniversary of the devastating breakup from her "wasband" forces her to revisit what happened, she finds herself wanting more than her therapist''s recommended gimmick to keep her emotionally safe.

Straight Up and Dirty demonstrates that the true measure of success isn''t what''s crossed off life''s to-do list. It''s having the grace and fortitude to move through change, curls intact and smiling