Sexual Healing - Signed and inscribed

Lydia Beaucoup and Acey Allen are two childhood friends who've grown up to become successful midcareer professionals. But having reached forty, their career success is matched by their romantic and sexual dissatisfactions. They hatch a plan to turn the world's oldest profession on its head: why not develop a new business aimed at meeting the intimate needs of black women, in an environment that's discreet, safe, and most important, completely focused on their pleasure? Thus is born the idea for A Sister's Spa - a "full-service" facility that supplies handsome black men willing and able to fulfill their clientele's every desire. Launching the enterprise is a struggle even as their delighted customer base grows, they face attacks from grandstanding church and community leaders, hostile media, and other conniving parties.
From the most dignified black church in Oakland to the racks of Loehmann's to the skyscraping executive suites of San Francisco, Sexual Healing is a comedy of outraged manners for the 21st century, a penetrating examination of sexual and racial politics, and a hilariously frank and forthright exploration of what women really want.

A brothel for women? Journalist Nelson, the author of several popular nonfiction books (Straight, No Chaser; etc.), offers a ribald take on the battle between the sexes and one heck of an entrepreneurial scheme in her wickedly funny first novel a great read, and a standout in the genre of African-American popular fiction.--Publishers Weekly" Yes, this is [Jill Nelson's] first novel, and thus she has no business stroking our mental erogenous zones with such cool confidence . Sexual Healing is the funny, erotic account of two African-American professionals in their 40s who decide to open a 'full-service spa in Nevada exclusively for black women in need of more than a massage and a pedicure .Despite all the racy scenes, Sexual Healing is also about the struggle to start a small business, the inner conflicts sparked by making money in the world s oldest profession and society s response to women who take charge of their sexuality.--Seattle Times" Jill Nelson is well known as a bold truth-teller with a wicked sense of humor In her first novel, she devotes all of her writing talents, observation skills, and uncanny ear for dialogue to a unique and controversial premise a brothel for women that is likely to make her book the must-have summer read for 2003 Nelson uses this set-up to spin a post-feminist fable of sexual empowerment that's smart, explicit, and side-splittingly funny. In fact, the book ought to come with a label warning those fresh out of surgery or with severe medical issues to beware before reading.--Ebony" Place two best girlfriends outside on a deck on a warm California Sunday afternoon, give them a bottle of champagne to share and the conversation will turn frank and funky fast, with no topic too sacred to explore and no bodily function so private that talk and friendship can't handle the grittiest detail. Such is the set-up of Sexual Healing, described by its publisher as a 'steamy and scabrously funny comedy of outraged manners," an altogether fair, even slightly modest assessment. The conversation of the two friends in question centers primarily on the two topics no heterosexual woman can stay away from for long: men their baffling and sometimes boneheaded ways and the sidebar to that, sex with same As a social commentator, [Jill Nelson] is pretty fearless. She also knows how to construct a compelling narrative. Happily, she scraps neither of these talents as a novelist I wouldn t dream of giving away the details of the all-out boffo finale except to say that many clues are dropped throughout the book, none without consequence or reason, and the careful reader should pay attention.--New York Times Book Review" Beach reading at its finest: funny, lively and nasty enough that you'll want to keep it away from the young'uns. So scoop out a place back there in the lingerie drawer where you hide books like this and get a highlighter to mark the instructional segments for your partner.--Minneapolis Star Tribune "Journalist Nelson, the author of several popular nonfiction books (Straight, No Chaser, etc.), offers a ribald take on the battle between the sexes and one heck of an entrepreneurial scheme in her wickedly funny first novel. Lydia Beaucoup and Acey Allen are 40ish best friends living in Oakland who find themselves going in circles when it comes to dating and finding a satisfying relationship. After a gab session in which the two women fantasize about the ideal man, Lydia comes up with a startling solution: she proposes opening a brothel in which sexy black male prostitutes attend to the sexual needs of black women. Acey thinks she's joking, but Lydia is dead serious, and she asks for a sabbatical from her job as an ad copywriter to put the crazy plan into action....Trouble surfaces when a conservative preacher on a family values kick gets wind of the project from a tabloid editor and tries to shut down the spa. Nelson has fun with her mischievous conceit, and there are more than a few hilarious scenes. The comedy is underpinned by her solid, convincing depiction of the friendship between Acey and Lydia, and an engaging, breezy style. The novel has its flaws...but it's a great read anyway, and a standout in the genre of African-American popular fiction." From Publishers Weekly, 5/12/03, p. 44