The Miami Bombshells, six 40-something females from Florida, offer further evidence of the national epidemic of people assuming the world is waiting for their life stories; having come together to spill their secrets to one another, the Bombshells are now spilling them in public. Under such chapter headings as "Who Am I?" and "To Love, Honor, and Oy Vey,
" this group—which includes high-powered executives, a TV producer, an Emmy-winning broadcaster and a school social worker—shares personal essays about marriage woes, mommy guilt, medical problems, depression and spirituality. When an issue is considered too personal—a violent date rape, an extramarital affair, a husband's mental illness—the essay is credited to "Bombshell." Some of the stories are compelling, but too often the details are banal or pocked with clichés. And while the Bombshells claim, "we're just like you," not too many people can call Katie Couric an old friend or complain of being "spoiled rotten" with "a housekeeper who irons my pajamas." The Bombshells want to share the value of developing friendship circles. They may provide a prod for some; those already clued in can skip this and simply spend some quality time with their own gang. (June)
