The Perfect Sister - What Draws Us Together, What Drives Us Apart (Hardcover)

Marcia Millman is one of the most talented observers of intimate life of our time. She brings to mind Herbert Gans or Studs Terkle: like these gifted interviewers, she gives us her fine insights but lets her subject's story and humanity directly touch the reader. Sisters will and should devour this book; those of us who are sister-deprived will find out fascinating and touching details about family life and women who share blood, history, and personal growth through their connection with one another.
- Pepper Schwartz, author of" Everything You Know About Love and Sex is Wrong

Marcia Millman's study of sisterhood gives us new insights into an age-old bond-one that has been relatively ignored by social scientists. Combining research and readability, THE PERFECT SISTER will help countless siblings understand and improve their relationships."
- Marilyn Yalom, author of "History of the Wife and "Birth of the Chess Queen

From THE PERFECT SISTER

"I would do anything for my sister. I adored her. And she was always there for me in the important ways. But it wasn't equal. I accommodated to her. We were supposed to take turns going to a grocery store that was a block away, and I would go with her when it was her turn, just to be with her. But she never came with me when it was my turn. I'd have to trudge to the store by myself. Many years later, when I worked in an office, it was always such a powerful thing for me when a friend was willing to walk me to the corner for lunch or walk me to the vending machines, just to be with me. Because my sister wouldn't do it. But we were the most important person in each other's lives; she was my lifeline." (page 34)

"Growing up, I waslike her mother, not just her sister. I was burdened as a child. Taking care of the twins kept me from having a social life." (page 244)