Most Popular Books by Terry McMillan

The critically acclaimed novel about four women who learn how to carry on while leaning on each other from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of How Stella Got Her Groove Back and It''s Not All Downhill From Here. When the men in their lives prove less than reliable, Savannah, Bernadine, Gloria, and Robin find new strength through a rare and enlightening friendship as they struggle to regain stability and an identity they don’t have to share with anyone. Because for the first time in a long time, their dreams are finally OFF hold.... “Hilarious, irreverent...Reading Waiting to Exhale is like being in the company of a great friend...thought-provoking, thoroughly entertaining, and very, very comforting.”—The New York Times Book Review

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • After a sudden change of plans, a remarkable woman and her loyal group of friends try to figure out what she’s going to do with the rest of her life—from Terry McMillan, the bestselling author of How Stella Got Her Groove Back and Waiting to Exhale NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY MARIE CLAIRE AND GOOD HOUSEKEEPING • “Poignant, funny and full of life, this is a balm for troubled times.”—People Loretha Curry’s life is full. A little crowded sometimes, but full indeed. On the eve of her sixty-eighth birthday, she has a booming beauty-supply empire, a gaggle of lifelong friends, and a husband whose moves still surprise. True, she’s carrying a few more pounds than she should be, but Loretha is not one of those women who think her best days are behind her—and she’s determined to prove wrong her mother, her twin sister, and everyone else with that outdated view of aging wrong. It’s not all downhill from here. But when an unexpected loss turns her world upside down, Loretha will have to summon all her strength, resourcefulness, and determination to keep on thriving, pursue joy, heal old wounds, and chart new paths. With a little help from her friends, of course.

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Terry McMillan comes an honest look at a modern romance, from love at first sight to painful reality to working toward a happy ending.... Franklin Swift was a sometimes-employed construction worker and a not-quite-divorced dad of two. Zora Banks was a teacher, singer, and songwriter. They met in a Brooklyn brownstone, and there could be no walking away.... In this funny, gritty love story, Franklin and Zora join the ranks of fiction’s most compelling couples as they move from Scrabble to sex, from layoffs to the limits of faith and trust. Disappearing Acts is about the mystery of desire and the burdens of the past. It’s about respect—what it can and can’t survive. And it’s about the safe and secret places that only love can find.

“Without question, this is McMillan’s best. A glorious novel....A moving tapestry of familial love and redemption.”—The Washington Post With her hallmark exuberance and a cast of characters so sassy, resilient, and full of life that they breathe, dream, and shout right off the page, Terry McMillan has given us a tour-de-force novel of family, healing, and redemption. A Day Late and a Dollar Short takes us deep into the hearts, minds, and souls of America—and gives us six more friends we never want to leave.

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Terry McMillan comes a “frank, no-holds-barred, humorous look at African-American midlife” (The Seattle Times). “Being a lifetime wife and mother has afforded me the luxury of having multiple and even simultaneous careers: I''ve been a chauffeur. A chef. An interior decorator. A landscape architect, as well as a gardener. I''ve been a painter. A furniture restorer. A personal shopper. A veterinarian''s assistant and sometimes the veterinarian. I''ve been an accountant, a banker, and on occasion, a broker. I''ve been a beautician. A map. A psychic. Santa Claus. The Tooth Fairy. The T.V. Guide. A movie reviewer. An angel. God. A nurse and a nursemaid. A psychiatrist and psychologist. Evangelist. For a long time I have felt like I inadvertently got my master''s in How to Take Care of Everybody Except Yourself and then a PhD in How to Pretend Like You Don''t Mind. But I do mind.” Today forty-four year old Marilyn Grimes has decided to be something other than a wife, a mother, a sister, or a daughter: herself. But first, she has to figure out exactly who that is....

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The bestselling author of How Stella Got Her Groove Back and Waiting To Exhale is back with the inspiring story of a woman who shakes things up in her life to find greater meaning NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY LIBRARY JOURNAL In I Almost Forgot About You, Dr. Georgia Young''s wonderful life—great friends, family, and successful career—aren''t enough to keep her from feeling stuck and restless. When she decides to make some major changes in her life, including quitting her job as an optometrist and moving house, she finds herself on a wild journey that may or may not include a second chance at love. Georgia’s bravery reminds us that it’s never too late to become the person you want to be, and that taking chances, with your life and your heart, are always worthwhile. Big-hearted, genuine, and universal, I Almost Forgot About You shows what can happen when you face your fears, take a chance, and open yourself up to life, love, and the possibility of a new direction. It’s everything you’ve always loved about Terry McMillan. Praise for I Almost Forgot About You “McMillan paints relationships in joyous primary colors; her novel brims with sexy repartee, caustic humor, and a fluent, assured prose that shines a bright light on her memorable characters. Her very best since Waiting to Exhale.”—O: The Oprah Magazine “The novel is immensely companionable, and Georgia is as alive, complex, inquiring, motivated and sexy as any twenty-five-year-old. Maybe more so.”—The New York Times Book Review “Self-discovery, second chances and the importance of family are thematic hallmarks of McMillan’s novels. . . . I Almost Forgot About You checks all the boxes.”—Washington Post “McMillan is funny and frank about men, women and sex. Her summaries of Georgia’s marriages and major love connections . . . are powerful and poetic.”—USA Today “Reading a Terry McMillan book feels like catching up with an old friend. . . . I Almost Forgot About You is a book that is important for readers of every age.”—Ebony

How Stella Got Her Groove Back is full of Terry McMillan''s signature humor, heart, and insight. More than a love story, it is ultimately a novel about how a woman saves her own life—and what she must risk to do it. Stella Payne is forty-two, divorced, a high-powered investment analyst, mother of eleven-year-old Quincy- and she does it all. In fact, if she doesn''t do it, it doesn''t get done, from Little League carpool duty to analyzing portfolios to folding the laundry and bringing home the bacon. She does it all well, too, if her chic house, personal trainer, BMW, and her loving son are any indication. So what if there''s been no one to share her bed with lately, let alone rock her world? Stella doesn''t mind it too much; she probably wouldn''t have the energy for love—and all of love''s nasty fallout—anyway. But when Stella takes a spur-of-the-moment vacation to Jamaica, her world gets rocked to the core—not just by the relaxing effects of the sun and sea and an island full of attractive men, but by one man in particular. He''s tall, lean, soft-spoken, Jamaican, smells of citrus and the ocean—and is half her age. The tropics have cast their spell and Stella soon realizes she has come to a cataclysmic juncture: not only must she confront her hopes and fears about love, she must question all of her expectations, passions, and ideas about life and the way she has lived it.

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author…“Remember Getting to Happy, Waiting to Exhale, and How Stella Got Her Groove Back? Well, you won’t likely forget Terry McMillan’s Who Asked You? either” (Raleigh News & Observer). Betty Jean already has her hands full when her grown daughter leaves her two young sons in her care. In between dealing with her other adult children, two opinionated sisters, an ill husband, and her own postponed dreams—BJ still manages to hold down a job delivering room service at a hotel. Her son Dexter is about to be paroled from prison; Quentin, the family success, can’t be bothered to lend a hand; and taking care of two lively grandsons is the last thing BJ thinks she needs. But who asked her?

The explosive novel that introduced the world to #1 New York Times bestselling author Terry McMillan. Mildred Peacock is the tough, funny, feisty heroine of Mama, a survivor who’ll do anything to keep her family together. In Mildred’s world, men come and go as quickly as her paychecks, but her five children are her dream, her hope, and her future. Not since Alice Walker’s The Color Purple has a black woman’s story been portrayed with such rich power, honesty, and love.

#1 New York Times bestselling author Terry McMillan''s exuberant return to the four unforgettable heroines of Waiting to Exhale. Waiting to Exhale was more than just a bestselling novel—its publication was a watershed moment in literary history. McMillan''s sassy and vibrant story about four black women struggling to find love and their place in the world touched a cultural nerve, inspired a blockbuster film, and generated a devoted audience. Now, McMillan revisits Savannah, Gloria, Bernadine, and Robin fifteen years later. Each is at her own midlife crossroads: Savannah has awakened to the fact that she''s made too many concessions in her marriage, and decides to face life single again—at fifty-one. Bernadine has watched her megadivorce settlement dwindle, been swindled by her husband number two, and conned herself into thinking that a few pills will help distract her from her pain. Robin has an all-American case of shopaholism, while the big dream of her life—to wear a wedding dress—has gone unrealized. And for years, Gloria has taken happiness and security for granted. But being at the wrong place at the wrong time can change everything. All four are learning to heal past hurts and to reclaim their joy and their dreams; but they return to us full of spirit, sass, and faith in one another. They''ve exhaled: now they are learning to breathe.

A critical and interpretive tribute to the work of film maker Spike Lee. Essays by African-American writers - Terry McMillan, Toni Cade Bambara, Nelson George, Charles Johnson, Henry Louis Gates, Jr and Melvin Van Peebles - accompany production stills taken by David Lee.

“This stunning collection from one of the great writers on Black culture covers the gamut: aging, love, poverty, trauma and plenty of lightness in between.”—People From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of How Stella Got Her Groove Back and Waiting to Exhale comes a remarkable, career-spanning collection of previously published short fiction and nonfiction pieces, as well as never-before-seen works. Before Terry McMillan found success as a novelist in the early 1990s, she published provocative, boundary-pushing short stories, capturing the struggles and triumphs of Black life in America with vitality and honesty, from the workaday factory man’s malaise in “The End” to the cast-aside lover’s resolve in “Touching” to the elderly woman’s wiles in “Ma’Dear.” McMillan’s inimitable voice bravely explores the dark corners of human relationships with compassion, humor, and nuance. This collection also features five unpublished stories that reveal how she wrestled with controversial topics rarely addressed in short fiction, from domestic abuse in “Mama, Take Another Step” to extreme poverty in “Can’t Close My Eyes to It.” Whether she’s revealing life lessons, pontificating about aging, recalling her sources of inspiration, or laying bare the beginnings of her life as a writer, McMillan approaches every piece with enduring candor, wit, and fearlessness. Devoted fans and new readers alike will be delighted to discover these treasures spanning McMillan’s long, groundbreaking career. Indeed, it wasn’t only what Terry McMillan has said that made her so beloved . . . it was the way she said it.

When her son Solomon graduated from high school, Terry McMillan was asked to be the guest speaker at the commencement ceremony. Determined not to be dull or redundant, Terry thought back to when she was stepping out into the world for the first time and the things she wished people had told her. Printing up what she thought were the most important tips for these new graduates, Terry was surprised to find that not only were these homemade pamphlets a hit with the students, but their parents clamored for copies too. Now with It''s Ok If You''re Clueless, Terry McMillan brings her trademark wit and sass to every son and daughter about to take their first tentative steps into adulthood. Offering such nuggets as "Sit up straight," "Don''t listen to your parents," and "Bring your laundry home," as well as "See the world" and "Read anything and everything," It''s Ok If You''re Clueless is packed with the commonsense advice and conversational tone that have made her novels classic bestsellers. Equal parts witty and wise, It''s Ok If You''re Clueless is the perfect gift for the college bound this May.

With her phenomenal New York Times bestseller Waiting to Exhale, Terry McMillan became one of the most important American novelists writing today. Here, for the first time in mass market paperback, is her extraordinary first novel. It is the exhilarating tale of feisty Mildred Peacock, whose five children are her hope and her future. Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved.

La protagonista de "Casi me olvido de ti", la optometrista afroamericana Georgia Young, una mujer madura, exitosa, con hijos mayores, muchos amigos y la vida resuelta, pero profundamente insatisfecha, decide enfrentarse a sus miedos y cambiar de rumbo. Desde abandonar su trabajo y su casa hasta abrir la puerta al amor intentando establecer contacto con sus antiguas parejas. Y demostrando, con valentía, que nunca es tarde para asumir riesgos. «Después de casi tres décadas de éxito y popularidad, McMillan todavía sabe cómo hacernos felices». The Washington Post "Esta novela es una buenísima compañía, y Georgia es tan vivaz, compleja, inquisitiva, motivada y sexy como cualquier mujer de 25 años de edad. Incluso más". The New York Times «No hay mejor guía que McMillan para una excursión a través de las crisis de la temprana, mediana y avanzada edad, y no hay nadie que recree mejor a los personajes femeninos que se niegan a renunciar a sus sueños o a volver la vista atrás buscando el camino a seguir». Publishers Weekly «McMillan pinta las relaciones con colores primarios y alegres; su novela rebosa ingenio y humor cáustico y su prosa fluye brillantemente en sus personajes inolvidables. Su mejor novela desde "Esperando un respiro"». The Oprah Magazine

¿Qué hacer cuando la vida nos obliga a cambiar de planes? Loretha Curry se siente plena. La víspera de su sexagésimo octavo cumpleaños, hace repaso de su vida y se da cuenta de que tiene un floreciente imperio de productos de belleza, un grupo de amistades de toda la vida y un marido que todavía hace maniobras sorprendentes. Es cierto que Loretha carga con más kilos de los que debería, pero no es una de esas mujeres que cree que lo mejor ya pasó, y se muestra decidida a demostrar a su madre, a su hermana gemela y al resto del mundo que la opinión que tienen de envejecer es errónea: no todo el pescado está vendido. Sin embargo, una pérdida inesperada lo pone todo patas arriba y Loretha deberá hacer acopio de fuerza, recursos y determinación para seguir persiguiendo la alegría y cartografiando nuevos caminos. Con una ayudita de sus amigos, claro.