If I Had My Life to Live Over »

Sandra Kay Martz founded Papier-Mache Press in 1984. Papier-Mache Press was known for publishing accessible books which, "presented important social issues through enduring works of beauty, grace, and strength," and "created a bridge of understanding between the mainstream audience and those who might not otherwise be heard. As an editor and publisher, she has compiled several successful Papier-Mache Press anthologies including If I Had My Life to Live Over I Would Pick More Daisies, and I Am Becoming the Woman I've Wanted, a book that explores the powerful feelings women have about their bodies.

This companion volume to the award-winning anthology, When I Am an Old Woman I Shall Wear Purple, illuminates the experiences of women, young and old, reflecting on the choices they have made. In these stories and poems we see how women's alternatives are both extended and limited by personal belief systems, ethnic and cultural identity, class and economic status, age, and gender. Whether exploring significant public events or small private choices, these word portraits resonate with authenticity and meaning.

Publishers Weekly

Lacking the eccentricity and distinctiveness of its bestselling predecessor, When I Am an Old Woman I Shall Wear Purple (on women and aging), also edited by Martz, this new volume on the theme of the choices women make throughout their lives is simplistic at best. The language of most stories and poems here is uninventive and often cliched; themes are staid. ``A child is growing somewhere / in this weary world, / an innocent unwary / of emotions shattered,'' writes Shirley Vogler Meister in a sing-song, rhyming poem about adoption; and the narrator of Stephany Brown's story, whose boyfriend promptly enlisted in the Army when at 16 she told him she was pregnant, says that ``having his baby is still the best thing I ever did.'' Too many of these pieces have haunting echoes of a campaign for Family Values. Reading these pages, one would assume women no longer make choices other than having children vs. having an abortion, marriage vs. divorce, or which boy to date. A few excellent tidbits--Janice Levy's story about a Mexican woman entering the U.S. illegally and working as a maid or Pat Schneider's poem about a sister choosing to be a nun--are not enough to make this volume worth reading. 70,000 first printing. (Feb.)