When Did I Stop Being Twenty and Other Injustices

Judith Viorst is known and loved by readers of all ages, for children's books such as <i>Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day</i>; nonfiction titles, including the bestseller <i>Necessary Losses</i>; and her collections of humorous poetry, which make perfect gifts for birthdays, Mother's Day, graduation, Christmas, Chanukah, or at any time of year.<br><br><i>When Did I Stop Being Twenty and Other Injustices</i> brings together the best of Judith Viorst's witty, insightful poetry, including many favorites from out-of-print collections. Whether she's finding herself or finding a sitter, or contemplating her sex life as she rubs the hormone night cream on her face, Viorst explores the true and funny ironies all women encounter growing up in the modern world.<br> <br>Here is a young single girl from Irvington, NJ, leaving her parents' home for life in the big city (&quot;No I do not believe in free love/And yes I will be home for Sunday dinners,&quot; she promises) . Here is the aspiring bohemian with an expensive liberal arts education, getting coffee and taking dictation, &quot;Hoping that someday someone will be impressed/With all I know.&quot; Here is that married woman, coping with motherhood (&quot;The tricycles are cluttering my foyer/The Pop Tart crumbs are sprinkled on my soul&quot;) and fantasy affairs (&quot;I could imagine cryptic conversations, clandestine martinis...and me explaining that long kisses clog my sinuses&quot;) and all-too-real family reunions (&quot;Four aunts in pain taking pills/One cousin in analysis taking notes&quot;) . And here she is at mid-life, wondering whether a woman who used to wear a &quot;Ban the Bomb&quot; button can find happiness being a person with a set of fondue forks, a fish poacher, and a wok.<br> <br>Every step of the way, Viorst transforms the familiar events of daily life into poems that make you laugh with recognition. <i>When Did I Stop Being Twenty and Other Injustices</i> demonstrates once and for all that no one understands American women coming of age like Judith Viorst.