Book excerpt: A collection of sixty-five of the most memorable essays to appear in the “Hers” column in The New York Times Among the talented writers who examined the private and public issues facing women are Lois Gould, Gail Godwin, Gail Sheehy, Joyce Maynard, Maxine Hong Kingston, Mary Cantwell, Linda Bird Francke, Susan Jacoby, Letty Cottin Pogrebin, and Phyllis Rose. Their essays, and those of many other “Hers” writers, inspired immediate attachment, and frequently spirited debate, with readers of the Times—both men and women. Each essay in Hers was chosen for the perspective it brings to a particular aspect of contemporary women’s lives: relationships with men, marriage, competing in the workplace, raising children, divorce, living alone, feminism, and issues ranging from abortion to math anxiety to making money. Bold portraits of singular women are a counterpoint to social issues and personal themes. The voices of women—their richness, their contradictions—are the life of this column and this book. Hers was compiled and edited by Nancy R. Newhouse, editor of the Living/Style Department of The New York Times.