 It follows the life of a "distant, aloof, tough-talking, married woman who blithely breaks seven of the Ten Commandments in her search for innocence and a safe place to land," according to the Reading Group Guide to the book.Norman Mailer said about it that, "not many young female novelists can deal with sex, the appetite for it, and the loss of such appetite with as much candor, lack of self-protection, and humor as Binnie Kirshenbaum;” and the work was selected as a Barnes and Noble Discover New Authors book and for a Critics Choice Award.In 1995, Kirshenbaum published her fourth book, a collection of short stories called "History on a Personal Note".