Terry McMillan – författare

At forty-four, Marilyn Grimes is facing up to the menopause (something is DEFINITELY up with her hormones), bored to tears by her responsible but unsexy husband Leon, and feeling the strain of having raised three children who may be great kids but who leave her feeling anxious all the time. Her mother-in-law, Arthurine, has moved in, as has Arthurine's beloved elderly dog, Snuffy. Meantime the needs of her own extended family (particularly her crack-head foster sister) are escalating like mad. No wonder Marilyn is feeling tired and hormonal. But everything is interrupted when Marilyn finds out she's not menopausal . . . but pregnant.

In "Waiting to Exhale", Terry McMillan chronicled the lives and love affairs of women in their mid-thirties, opening up an entirely new literary field and audience for African-American writers. "Getting to Happy", her exuberant and engaging "sequel," revisits the same four spirited women - Savannah, Gloria, Bernadine, and Robin - now catapulted into midlife. Fifteen years later, her heroines are as sassy, vivid, and smart-mouthed as ever. As a broadcast investigative journalist, Savannah takes pride in her work exposing secrets and scandals - but she never expected to uncover one in her own home that would bring her already diminishing marriage to an explosive end. Bernie has had many problems that put her past challenges in the shade - these days, she finds herself popping pills and forgetting details that she might do well to recall. Robin's high-rolling life as a serial shopper runs into trouble when she loses her job to a merger, and she's hardly faring any better in the world of online dating. Gloria still runs the bustling Oasis salon, but back-to-back family tragedies hit her hard.All four face tough questions about love and loss, but they keep faith in themselves and each other as their lives fall apart and reconfigure. A particular reward of this novel is the cast of younger characters - Bernadine's now-college-age Onika; Robin's daughter Sparrow; and Gloria's son Tariq, married and with young children (and problems) of his own. McMillan's pitch-perfect prose draws us into the deeply affecting stories of these women, highlighting the humor and joy that carry them through their struggles. Although girlfriend time may have eroded somewhat under life's pressures, four-way calls and movie night get-togethers continue to reaffirm the importance of friendship not only to getting by but to chasing that perennial goal - getting to happy.

Stella Payne is forty-two, divorced, a high-powered investment analyst, mother of eleven-year-old Quincy—and she does it all. In fact, if she doesn''t do it, it doesn''t get done, from Little League carpool duty to analyzing portfolios to folding the laundry and bringing home the bacon. She does it all well, too, if her chic house, personal trainer, BMW, and her loving son are any indication. So what if there''s been no one to share her bed with lately, let alone rock her world? Stella doesn''t mind it too much; she probably wouldn''t have the energy for love—and all of love''s nasty fallout—anyway.

But when Stella takes a spur-of-the-moment vacation to Jamaica, her world gets rocked to the core—not just by the relaxing effects of the sun and sea and an island full of attractive men, but by one man in particular. He''s tall, lean, soft-spoken, Jamaican, smells of citrus and the ocean—and is half her age. The tropics have cast their spell and Stella soon realizes she has come to a cataclysmic juncture: not only must she confront her hopes and fears about love, she must question all of her expectations, passions, and ideas about life and the way she has lived it.

Told in Stella''s own exuberant, dead-on, dead honest voice, How Stella Got Her Groove Back is full of Terry McMillan''s signature humor, heart, and insight. More than a love story, it is ultimately a novel about how a woman saves her own life—and what she must risk to do it.

Much-heralded and long awaited, Terry McMillan''s tour-de-force novel introduces the Price family-matriarch Viola, her sometimes-husband Cecil, and their four adult kids, each of whom sees life-and one another-through thick and thin, and entirely on their own terms. With her hallmark exuberance and cast of characters so sassy, resilient, and full of life that they breathe, dream, and shout right off the page.From the Trade Paperback edition.

From the critically acclaimed author of A Day Late and a Dollar Short and The Interruption of Everything, a wise, earthy story of a friendship between four African American women who lean on each other while "waiting to exhale": waiting for that man who will take their breath away.

An exuberant return to the four unforgettable heroines of Waiting to Exhale—the novel that changed African American fiction forever.Terry McMillan''s Waiting to Exhale was more than just a bestselling novel—its publication was a watershed moment in literary history. McMillan''s sassy and vibrant story about four African American women struggling to find love and their place in the world touched a cultural nerve, inspired a blockbuster film, and generated a devoted audience.Now, McMillan revisits Savannah, Gloria, Bernadine, and Robin fifteen years later. Each is at her own midlife crossroads: Savannah has awakened to the fact that she''s made too many concessions in her marriage, and decides to face life single again—at fifty-one. Bernadine has watched her megadivorce settlement dwindle, been swindled by her husband number two, and conned herself into thinking that a few pills will help distract her from her pain. Robin has an all-American case of shopaholism, while the big dream of her life—to wear a wedding dress—has gone unrealized. And for years, Gloria has taken happiness and security for granted. But being at the wrong place at the wrong time can change everything. All four are learning to heal past hurts and to reclaim their joy and their dreams; but they return to us full of spirit, sass, and faith in one another. They''ve exhaled: now they are learning to breathe.

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author…“Remember Getting to Happy, Waiting to Exhale, and How Stella Got Her Groove Back? Well, you won’t likely forget Terry McMillan’s Who Asked You? either” (Raleigh News & Observer). When Who Asked You? begins, Trinetta leaves her two young sons with her mother, Betty Jean, and promptly disappears. BJ already has her hands full dealing with her other adult children, two opinionated sisters, an ill husband, and her own postponed dreams—all the while holding down a job delivering room service at a hotel. Her son Dexter is about to be paroled from prison; Quentin, the family success, can’t be bothered to lend a hand; and taking care of two lively grandsons is the last thing BJ thinks she needs. But who asked her?From the Paperback edition.

He was tall, dark as bittersweet chocolate, and impossibly gorgeous, with a woman-melting smile. She was pretty and independent, petite and not too skinny, just his type. Franklin Swift was a sometimes-employed construction worker, and a not-quite-divorced daddy of two. Zora Banks was a teacher, singer, songwriter. They met in a Brooklyn brownstone, and there could be no walking away...

In this funny, gritty urban love story, Franklin and Zora join the ranks of fiction''s most compelling couples, as they move from Scrabble to sex, from layoffs to the limits of faith and trust. Disappearing Acts is about the mystery of desire and the burdens of the past. It''s about respect, what it can and can''t survive. And it''s about the safe and secret places that only love can find.

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of How Stella Got Her Groove Back and Waiting To Exhale is back with the inspiring story of a woman who shakes things up in her life to find greater meaningIn I Almost Forgot About You, Dr. Georgia Young''s wonderful life--great friends, family, and successful career--aren''t enough to keep her from feeling stuck and restless. When she decides to make some major changes in her life, including quitting her job as an optometrist and moving house, she finds herself on a wild journey that may or may not include a second chance at love. Georgia’s bravery reminds us that it’s never too late to become the person you want to be, and that taking chances, with your life and your heart, are always worthwhile.   Big-hearted, genuine, and universal, I Almost Forgot About You shows what can happen when you face your fears, take a chance, and open yourself up to life, love, and the possibility of a new direction. It’s everything you’ve always loved about Terry McMillan.From the Hardcover edition.

When her son Solomon graduated from high school, Terry McMillan was asked to be the guest speaker at the commencement ceremony. Determined not to be dull or redundant, Terry thought back to when she was stepping out into the world for the first time and the things she wished people had told her. Printing up what she thought were the most important tips for these new graduates, Terry was surprised to find that not only were these homemade pamphlets a hit with the students, but their parents clamored for copies too.

Now with It''s Ok If You''re Clueless, Terry McMillan brings her trademark wit and sass to every son and daughter about to take their first tentative steps into adulthood. Offering such nuggets as "Sit up straight," "Don''t listen to your parents," and "Bring your laundry home," as well as "See the world" and "Read anything and everything," It''s Ok If You''re Clueless is packed with the commonsense advice and conversational tone that have made her novels classic bestsellers. Equal parts witty and wise, It''s Ok If You''re Clueless is the perfect gift for the college bound this May.

After a sudden change of plans, a remarkable woman and her loyal group of friends try to figure out what she’s going to do with the rest of her life—from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of How Stella Got Her Groove Back and Waiting to Exhale Loretha Curry’s life is full. A little crowded sometimes, but full indeed. On the eve of her sixty-eighth birthday, she has a booming beauty-supply empire, a gaggle of lifelong friends, and a husband whose moves still surprise. True, she’s carrying a few more pounds than she should be, but Loretha is not one of those women who think her best days are behind her—and she’s determined to prove wrong her mother, her twin sister, and everyone else with that outdated view of aging wrong. It’s not all downhill from here. But when an unexpected loss turns her world upside down, Loretha will have to summon all her strength, resourcefulness, and determination to keep on thriving, pursue joy, heal old wounds, and chart new paths. With a little help from her friends, of course.

Que hacer cuando la vida nos obliga a cambiar de planes? Loretha Curry se siente plena. La vispera de su sexagesimo octavo cumpleanos, hace repaso de su vida y se da cuenta de que tiene un floreciente imperio de productos de belleza, un grupo de amistades de toda la vida y un marido que todavia hace maniobras sorprendentes. Es cierto que Loretha carga con mas kilos de los que deberia, pero no es una de esas mujeres que cree que lo mejor ya paso, y se muestra decidida a demostrar a su madre, a su hermana gemela y al resto del mundo que la opinion que tienen de envejecer es erronea: no todo el pescado esta vendido. Sin embargo, una perdida inesperada lo pone todo patas arriba y Loretha debera hacer acopio de fuerza, recursos y determinacion para seguir persiguiendo la alegria y cartografiando nuevos caminos. Con una ayudita de sus amigos, claro.