Secrets of a Jewish Mother: Real Advice, Real Stories, Real Love »

Jill Zarin is one of the stars of Bravo's The Real Housewives of New York City.
Lisa Wexler is a lawyer and host of the Lisa Wexler Show on the Cox radio stations. She lives in Westport, Connecticut.
Gloria Kamen, their mother, was the surprise hit of Real Housewives season two. She will be writing her "Ask Gloria" advice column BravoTV.com when season three premiers in March 2010. Gloria lives in Boca Raton, Florida.

The Jewish Mother knows what she wants. And what you should want too. In Secrets of a Jewish Mother, you'll learn how to make her methods your very own, and as result you'll give and get of love and happiness in great amounts. In what could be thought of as the Jewish Mother's Guide to Life, Jill Zarin, the breakout star of Bravo's hit series, The Real Housewives of New York, teams up with her sister, Lisa Wexler, award-winning host of daily radio program The Lisa Wexler Show, and her mother, the estimable Gloria Kamen who made a splash on Jill's series last year. Secrets of a Jewish Mother shows readers that being clear about what you want is the best policy, and standing up for yourself and your family is always the right way to go. Using real life examples, stories from Jill, Lisa and Gloria, this mother/daughter trio reveals their secrets to life, love, and happiness. Some of their Jewish Mother tips include: * Dating: "A good man is hard to find, but so is a good woman. Don't settle for less than you deserve." * Parenting: "Fair is not always equal; equal is not always fair." * Family: "Bar mitzvahs and weddings: The grudge starts here." * Money: "Don't wait 'til you're dead to give it away." * The clichés that matter: "Bring a gift." And, remember, a lot of love and a little matzoh ball soup never hurt anyone.

Publishers Weekly

The latest of TV's Real Housewives of New York City to enter the publishing arena, Zarin wisely recruits her sister, radio host Wexler, and their mother, online columnist Kamen, to produce an opinionated guide to life from the point of view of three Jewish moms-the kind whose "stereotypical traits" ("domineering, interfering, tactless and loud") have resulted in strong families and successful careers. Insisting that "if a lesson is worth teaching once, it is worth teaching at least two thousand times," the trio use a conversational, collaborative approach to make each themed chapter (including dating, health and beauty, education, career, and, of course, parenting) stick, trading off charismatic group narration with first-person interjections and personal stories that expand upon traditional, time-tested advice: "We come from a long line of long marriages. ...We were taught it is normal to go through bad times in a marriage, even bad year." They also provide "ask yourself" questions to motivate further exploration, and a short chapter on "Superstitions and the Clichés that Matter." Honest, self-aware, and frequently funny, these women deliver a triple-strength dose of universal advice.
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