A Woman's Primer

Women are amazing. Thus begins the entry for the letter "A" in Ruth Sidransky's glorious Primer, a journey through fragments of a long life that examines the unique strength of women through every part of the passage, ordinary days and extraordinary ones, difficulties and joy, sorrow and triumphs. Like the powerfully observed worlds of Annie Dillard and clarity of Joan Didion, Sidranksy looks into the beauty of the world as well as its dangers. Her language is as sharp as saw grass, her observations surprising and always profound. And when the grass leaves marks, Sidransky helps the wounded march through it and on, healing as they go. What of Sidransky's choices for the letters of A Woman's Primer? What words do young women need to keep close to their chests as they run through the field of the living, hearts open and filled with awe? All women must be brave. The world will throw powerful events toward each woman that she must address and overcome. She will meet love and learn to listen to its languages and meaning, learn to trust herself and her instincts. Kindness, safety, a sense of purpose and the comfort of family are also monumental in the lives of women. Sidransky, now 85, reaches into her life's long arc and finds modern pragmatism: Women need financial independence, meaningful work, jobs, respect, careers, healthcare, childcare, freedom of body and freedom of thought. In her 9th decade, A Woman's Primer is one of three books she will publish this year. Part memoir, part philosophical inquiry into the soul of women, Sidransky affirms the journey through it all, finally accepting that life exists for life itself, for the daffodil that comes up yellow every spring. Here is A Woman's Primer, the ABC's of a life, of a woman beginning again and again.