A Love/Hate Memoir
By Deborah van Rooyen
She is an opinionated art director in Boston, single with one child. He, or "the Captain," as she calls him, is a Boston TV-commercial director, twice divorced. On the Captain's sloop, she is first mate. Not in all senses, though. She wants to be his girlfriend, but, except for their brief flings, he keeps her at arm's length—for 13 years until 1999. Van Rooyen's memoir is fresh and funny and also sad. After the Captain (accidentally?) slams a hatchback door on her nose, her 6-year-old daughter vows, "I'll take care of you, Mommy." (ReganBooks, $24.95)
Bottom Line: Engaging from stem to stern
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