STRAIGHT UP & DIRTY by Stephanie Klein
ISBN: 0060843276
Format: Hardcover, 304pp
Pub. Date: July 2006
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
In 2004, Stephanie Klein created a blog to give her a positive outlet to express feelings regarding her recently divorced status. She went from being the happily married, Lily Pulitzer-clad doctor’s wife, to single and devastated. Armed with a dog, Linus, a tight group of girlfriends and a talent for turning a phrase, Klein began her blog Greek Tragedy. The website was devoted to her life, her writing and her photography. Today her website averages over 100,000 new visitors monthly. What is it about Klein that keeps people coming to her site and has already turned her book into one of Entertainment Weekly’s Must Summer Reads? The answer is simple — TRUTH. The quote at the beginning of Straight Up & Dirty is “Tell the truth or someone will tell it for you.” Klein definitely tells you the truth, in all its gritty glory. She wears her heart on her sleeve and it spills all over the pages of her book in words of hope, courage and inspiration. She was forced to start her life over before even turning 30 and was able to use it as an opportunity to learn more about herself. The blog became a way of “throat cleaning” for her emotional health.
Reading Klein’s memoir is like getting advice from a close girlfriend who has been through it all. Anyone who has found themselves feeling discouraged or disheartened by a life that doesn’t seem to be going as planned will find solace and hope in her words. Klein has crafted a spectacular piece that will earn her legions of new fans and delight the audience that she has already acquired through her heartfelt honesty about life.
