“He entertained them lavishly”: Judy Blume, Letters to Judy, p. 94.
Chapter Fourteen
Mistakes
“From the beginning, we fought”: Judy Blume, Letters to Judy, p. 99.
“My son and daughter thought he was a kid”: John Neary, “The ‘Jacqueline Susann of Kids’ Books,’ Judy Blume, Grows Up with an Adult Novel,” People, October 16, 1978. Accessed online: https://people.com/archive/the-jacqueline-susann-of-kids-books-judy-blume-grows-up-with-an-adult-novel-vol-10-no-16.
“I could have had affairs, but instead I got married”: Weidt, Presenting Judy Blume, p. 18.
“I would say, ‘Isn’t he wonderful?’ ”: Judy Blume, Letters to Judy, p. 107.
Larry was having a particularly hard time: Weidt, Presenting Judy Blume, p. 17.
“It was very hard for me to get married again”: John Neary, “The ‘Jacqueline Susann of Kids’ Books,’ Judy Blume, Grows Up with an Adult Novel.”
“In spite of my vow to respect her privacy”: Judy Blume, Letters to Judy, p. 151.
“It is a town with very frustrated, resentful, talented women”: Weidt, Presenting Judy Blume, p. 18.
“You’re the one who’s making the bombs”: Judy Blume, Tiger Eyes (New York: Bradbury Press, 1981). I worked from the 2014 reprint from Simon & Schuster, p. 163.
Judy had two abortions during that time: Nicole Sperling, “How Judy Blume Finally Got a ‘Yes’ from Hollywood,” New York Times, March 7, 2023. Accessed online: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/07/business/media/judy-blume-hollywood.html.
The Career, as she called it: John Neary, “The ‘Jacqueline Susann of Kids’ Books,’ Judy Blume, Grows Up with an Adult Novel.”
“I think I know who you are”: Judy Blume, Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Bradbury Press, 1977), p. 117.
“They had to change cars,” her mom explains: Ibid., p. 69.
“What would your mothers say if they knew what you’d been doing?”: Ibid., p. 194.
“While Ms. Blume’s book is teeming with social value”: Julia Whedon, “The Forties Revisited,” New York Times, May 1, 1977.
“Blume’s approach will be resented as frivolous by many readers”: As quoted in Weidt, Presenting Judy Blume, p. 67.
Chapter Fifteen
Monogamy
“Oh Mother, dammit! Why did you bring me up to think that this was what I wanted?”: Judy Blume, Wifey (New York: Berkley Books, 1978), p. 119.
In April 1977, she penned a respectful note to Mercier: Box 27 of the Judy Blume Papers at Yale University’s Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library. Accessed April 1, 2022.
In the meantime, she scarfed down way too many glazed donuts: Judy Blume, Wifey, Introduction, p. x.
Lisbeth “explained it as Sandy’s need to control her own destiny”: Ibid., p. 16.
“What are you doing?”: Ibid., p. 61.
“I used to know that [sex scenes] were good”: Brandon Sanchez, “Sex Between the Pages of the New Yorker Festival,” Vulture. https://www.vulture.com/2023/10/new-yorker-festival-2023-book-sex-scenes-judy-blume.html#_ga=2.9118197.170374204.1701972221-1398311225.1701972221.
“That’s why I douche with vinegar…”: Judy Blume, Wifey, p. 23.
“I won’t forbid you from seeing him, Sandy”: Ibid., p. 88.
“Make his interests your interests”: Ibid., p. 60.
“She wasn’t sure. If he beat her, she could complain”: Ibid., p. 190.
“To me she’ll always be Sarah”: Ibid., p. 30.
“They’re still different no matter how hard you try to pretend they’re not”: Ibid., p. 42.
“The natives are restless everywhere”: Ibid., p. 107.
“Don’t worry Mr. Pressman, we’re known for our discretion at Four Corners”: Ibid., p. 212.
“Marriage to him would have meant a life”: Ibid., p. 247.
“When I think of all the energy, all the misplaced artistic aggression”: Erica Jong, Fear of Flying (Fort Worth, TX: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1973), p. 205.
“She had been a spirited, adventurous young woman”: Gloria Steinem, “Ruth’s Song (Because She Could Not Sing It). Accessed as a PDF online: https://englishiva1011.pbworks.com/f/RUTHSONG.PDF.
“The family must have watched this energetic, fun-loving, book-loving woman”: Ibid.
“The world still missed a unique person named Ruth”: Ibid.
