People react in strong ways to Helen Gurley Brown and her "Cosmo Girl" outlook: with rage at her success despite her often politically incorrect views OR with a sigh of relief at her wonderfully whimsical, life's-a-party attitude.Obviously, I find myself in the latter camp.
In her latest candid memoir, HGB gets perhaps more personal that ever with revelations about tough times she's gone through (breast cancer, leaving Cosmo, assorted indignities of aging) with her usual unsinkable style, but perhaps revealing more depth and vulnerability than in her prior books, which tended to concentrate heavily on "land that job, land that man."
I think this is Helen at her best- the wisdom that comes from living a remarkable life (that should give hope to any late bloomer), the confidence of a woman who's succeeded too well to worry about appearing flawless, and of course, the ever-present insecurities that made her every Cosmo reader's friend on lonely nights because she'd been there, survived and eventually thrived.