A book for every woman to read and explore their inner selves. Twenty-six women authors write about a piece of their life where the “bitch” comes out. They share with us truths about themselves that for too long have been hidden away by well-known women such as “Dear Abby.” This book is like sitting down to a chat with an old friend over a cup of coffee: a book that gives license to women to be angry, upset, defensive. All the choices we have been told are wrong have been outed in these tales.

Topics explored in Bitch In The House range from the choice to not have children to the taboo of choosing to have extramarital affairs. The authors show us the insides of their bedrooms; their mornings spent focused on how soon they can dress the kids to get into work where they manage to stay calm and in charge, a feat rarely accomplished at home; the stress of a new baby and how relieving it is to let loose the commanding, directing mother hidden inside; the overall liberation of being angry and how it contributes to maintaining our balance as women living in the twenty-first century.

I applaud this multilayered look inside women. I am one of the many who always questions myself whenever I get “bitchy". I am also one of the many who have questioned the meaning of the word, and wondered who exactly pinned it on us exclusively, and tried to figure out why it is a bad thing to be. I savor each story without rushing. I lay the book down and ponder the bits in each piece that set my brain to firing back and forth, wondering what if I had done this? Or what if I had tried that? I wonder if this would be a good idea for the future? A polite warning to all men who may enter my domain: I side with these authors, so if you want to truly understand me, understand women, then take the time to read this one. All of you men who are in a relationship and don’t understand what has happened to your beloved, to you I offer the same invitation. Read the book. And women, don’t you forget to read it and keep it to share with any daughters you may have. And if you chose not to bear offspring, pass it on to your neighbor’s girl. Let us claim the word bitch again.