Wendy and The Lost Boys by Julie Salamon.

One of America`s preeminent playwrights, Wendy Wasserstein had a lot to share and share it she did!
Her writing influenced a generation and helped Women everywhere pull their life experiences into a historical context that had as its axis the massive sociological changes that drove through the 60s, 70s, and 80s. Most well know for The Heidi Chronicles, her own background which was Jewish gave her so much life ammunition that her eventual success was not really all that surprising.
Wendy`s was a life built on Secrets and Illusions, appearances counted, marriage and children were God, you could live your whole life without acknowledging pain, hurt, sexuality, without confronting a single piece of unpleasantness or failure if you so chose and Lola Wendy`s mother chose to bask warmly in her children's success while skewering mercilessly the faults she perceived them to have...failing to marry and produce offspring was a major. Lola had built her life on a foundation of secrets and it was a trait that she passed to Wendy and her siblings all of whom experienced success in their chosen fields,all followed Lola`s example in hiding what they didn`t want others to know and compartmentalising their lives and relationships. For those who invested in Wendy, especially her Gay friends this caused great pain, misunderstanding and ruptured lives in some cases. Wendy gave birth to a daughter, Lucy Jane at 48 but almost no one knew she was pregnant and like her elder sister, she was in such denial that anything was wrong heath wise that she basically handed herself her death warrant.The opposite side of Wendy was warmth, generosity, kindness and an attitude that rocked peoples worlds, her humour while a take often on her own and her families perceived faults could be very funny, relentlessly social, she surrounded herself with the accouterments of wealth but often looked like she had been dragged in by the cat!
A very well written book, that engages you and takes you on a journey from Brooklyn to The Top of the World,this insecure and private woman`s story is told with such depth that you can`t do anything but fall head long into the text, which is very fair to all involved in the story but brings such a warm glow that you don`t put it down and say"So sad" Julie Salamon celebrates the life and world that was Wendy Wasserstein.