New Comedy about Dysfunction & Harassment

Achieving It All by Bengta Boydstrom, the first comedy to truly explore the ever changing rules of female sexuality, has been published by Writers Club Press. The 276-page paperback, ISBN 0-595-09531-3, is available from barnesandnoble.com or amazon.com. Bookstores may order copies from the Ingram Book Group, a major book wholesaler, at (800) 937-8000.

   No other fiction has reflected the changes in womens lives the way Achieving It All does. Set in the spring of nineteen seventy-nine, the plot focus on the way that most movies, much of the pop music, all of the womens magazines, and of course, Masters & Johnson were urging women to go for it. Subject to this onslaught, shy, sensitive Hazel Newman becomes the Charlie Chaplin of the Sexual Revolution. Just as the Little Tramp was routinely trounced by industrialization, Hazel finds her experiments with romance go consistently wrong. She knocks over a feminine hygiene display, gets stuck naked in the sink, floods the kitchen and has to pump out the septic tank with her husbands Uncle Frank.

It doesnt help that her husband is obtuse, her first affair is with a cad and her second is with a string-plucking bass player with fingers rough as industrial grade sandpaper. At work, she is harassed by her boss, who puts her on a commission basis, rather than giving her a raise and the firms best client is a pervert who mauls her every time she takes him to lunch. Each time he mauls her, however, he also gives Best Temp more business, forcing Hazel to choose between increasing levels of success or the consistent loss of dignity...until she exposes his obsessions on the stately sunlight Oak Room floor.

   There are glimpses into the lives of Hazels friends and co-workers including elegant Opal Foley, a very proper African-American ex-school teacher; out-spoken Connie Edwards, an over-active human resources manager; and eager Charli Forrester, a nineteen-year-old caught between her large family and the desire for independence. Readers also follow Hazel as she first seeks fulfillment from a self-help book, and met Mary, the leader of a Womens Center Sexual Awareness Group, plus the other members: Ruth, Ginger, Magda, Zola, Kit and Antonia, each of whom brings her own fantasies and foibles into the discussion.

   In addition to providing some outrageously funny situations, plus fairly detailed anatomical information about female sexual response, Achieving It All takes an unblinking look at the serious side of sex, including STDs, unplanned pregnancy, and the role sperm may have in advancing some cancers. Ms. Boydstrom adds, This book is every klutzy misstep that the romance and erotic novels failed to mention about personal relationships. My hope is that it will help women take a long, hard look at themselves...literally and figuratively...and perhaps gain a better understanding of the social and biological forces that shape their lives."

Contact: Bengta Boydstrom / bengtabks@aol.com