Silver Tales: True, Inspiring Stories

These volumes comprise the autobiographies of ordinary women who have lived extraordinary-and in most cases, very difficult-lives. Written primarily by women now in their fifties and sixties, these stories belie the notion that the good old days were all fun and games, with poodle skirts and hot rods and diners filled with happy teenagers hanging out around the juke box. As inspirational as they are disturbing, the accounts focus on the dark side of growing up in the 50s and 60s: the abusive parent; rape by a sibling; the philandering husband. Still, common to all these stories is recovery and a sense of finally being at peace with oneself.