Product Description

By age thirty-seven, Cathy Alter had made a mess of her life. With a failed marriage already under her belt, she was continuing down the path of poor decisions, one paved with a steady stream of junk food, unpaid bills, questionable friends, and highly inappropriate men. So she sat down and asked herself what she truly wanted. A decent guy. A nicer home. More protein. When she took a closer look at her wants, she noticed something that seemed very familiar -- with the addition of exclamation points, her list could easily be transformed into the cover lines on every women's magazine: Find the love you deserve! Paint to the rescue! Eggs-actly perfect meals!

So Cathy gave over her life to the glossies for the next twelve months, resolving to follow their advice without question. By the end of her subscriptions, she would get rid of upper-arm jiggle, crawl out of debt, host the perfect dinner party, run a mile without puking, engage in better bathtub booty, ask for a raise, and rehaul her apartment.

Well, at least that was the premise of her social experiment. What actually happened was much less about cosmetic change and much more about internal transformation. Singular in its voice and yet completely universal, Up for Renewal will appeal to all who have ever wondered if they could actually make their life over.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #719112 in Books
• Published on: 2008-07-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 336 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Realizing she needed to do serious work on her junk food/junk sex–littered lifestyle, Alter, a recently divorced thirty-seven-year old freelance writer, decided to spend each month of the coming year following the advice of a major women's magazine without question. She picked nine titles focusing on a how-to ethos more or less aligned with her own demographic: Elle, Marie Claire, O, Allure, Self, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, InStyle and Real Simple. Each month she'd work on a particular damage zone—diet, social fears, clothes, relationship snafus, cooking, sex, etc.—and follow the advice of her chosen magazine as earnestly as possible. Meanwhile, she'd also begun dating a new guy, which brought up relationship challenges her magazine mentors loved to address—spicing up the sex, learning to cook instead of eating out and deciding if his birthday present meant a marriage proposal was imminent. While she ends up feeling positive about the self-improvement her magazine experiment has brought, she knows if she hadn't been ready and willing to change, all the advice in the world wouldn't have helped. In the end, fans of Bridget Jones will also enjoy Alter—she's funny and endearing. (July)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review
"You know that warm, relaxed, pleasurable feeling you get when cracking open the latest issue of your favorite magazine? That's what reading Cathy Alter's Up for Renewal is like. Prepare to not only have a great time but also to get truly inspired."-- Mandy Stadtmiller, "About Last Night" New York Post columnist

Review
"A funny, wise-crackey, addictively readable coming-of-maturity."-- Cathi Hanauer, author of Sweet Ruin and editor of The Bitch in the House

"Cathy Alter's Up for Renewal is witty and whimsical. You'll want to stay with her well-developed voice all the way to the end."-- Rachel Sontag, Author of House Rules

"You know that warm, relaxed, pleasurable feeling you get when cracking open the latest issue of your favorite magazine? That's what reading Cathy Alter's Up for Renewal is like. Prepare to not only have a great time but also to get truly inspired."-- Mandy Stadtmiller, "About Last Night" New York Post columnist

"A transformation sensation, witty and soulful."-- Larry Smith, founder of SMITH Magazine and co-editor of Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs By Writers Famous & Obscure

"Up For Renewal is a charming, hilarious book that proves that it is possible to change your life in just one year. Using the improbable guide of women's magazines, Cathy Alter transforms her relationship, her job, her body, even the color of her living room. She got me laughing out loud, and also vowing to try her recipe for Mexican Chicken Soup."-- Gretchen Rubin, author of the blog, The Happiness Project, www.happiness-project.com

"Fans of Bridget Jones will also enjoy Alter - she's funny and endearing." -- Publishers Weekly

Customer Reviews

I thoroughly enjoyed this book
I absolutely enjoyed this book - but will you? Key facts about this one that might help you decide:

First off, you need to know that it is written by a woman who details how she coped with a period of time when she was trying to get past a divorce and felt unhappy, deeply so. By her own admission, she was making some poor choices and she is open about the details of her mistakes. Dating the wrong people. Eating poorly. Just generally...bumbling along.

Then she has a moment of inspiration and decides (however crazy it sounds) to use magazines as a path to self-improvement. She chooses to follow the advice she finds in those magazines, focusing on various aspects of her life, one part at a time - from choosing jeans to learning how to be happier.

Although I was skeptical and expected this book to be a rather superficial and light read, similar to many glossy magazines out there (all surface but no substance) I was surprised to find Up for Renewal to be far more charming and engaging than I expected. There were genuine nuggets of wisdom in the book - as well as plenty of humor and insight.

At the same time, I do feel obligated to note that Up for Renewal will probably appeal primarily to female readers, particularly those going through a crisis...and perhaps those drawn to rather gossipy, self-help books. Would it have been my first pick of a book to read? Probably not. But it was well worth the time spent reading it.

Anxiety in the Big City
What is more annoying than a twenty-five year old who is trying to find her self? That would a forty year old who thinks and acts like she's twenty-five and wonders why her life is spinning out of control.

What seems like a semi-autobiographical peek into the insecurities of a big city girl, Alter shares her life. A divorce, bad relationships and overall bad choices lead her to wonder if the large display of shinny flashy women's magazines know something that she doesn't. So she plans to live the life that the magazines tell her to for one year and see what happens. Each month she picks a new topic and decides to work on it. And coincidentally, that month the magazines address her specific issues. Funny how that worked out.

I don't know if I got used to her antics and anxieties, but by the end of the book I was actually laughing along with her. I wouldn't recommend this to everyone, or even most, but if you have any tolerance for women that are slow to grow up and overly anxious about the world in general give it a try. Other wise, just know that magazines are designed to entertain and make you insecure and if you're wise enough you don't live your life according to what other anxiety ridden writers tell you is important.

A Wonderful fun read!!!
Up For Renewal is a wonderful, hilarious book that asks the question is it possible to change your life in just one year? Using the improbable guide of women's magazines, Cathy Alter transforms her relationship, her job, her body, even the color of her living room. I was on the edge of my seat, laughing. I could not put this book down. I even read it in just one day. I hardly noticed my kids screaming and the milk on the floor. It was a great escape. I will soon start changing my life one day at a time. Thanks for the inspiration.