From the Washington Post:
As Valentine’s Day approaches, you may be reflecting on your own first obsession with an out-of-reach object of devotion. You’re not alone.
This spring, Washington writers Cathy Alter and Dave Singleton will publish a charming collection of short essays called ”CRUSH: Writers Reflect on Love, Longing and the Lasting Power of Their First Celebrity Crush
.”
Here’s just a taste from this box of treats:
Jodi Picoult: “In my dreams, Donny Osmond was clean-cut and asexual, attentive and gentle and understanding.”
Stephen King: “Kim Novak was so heavy-eyed and feral. It was the first time I really noticed a woman’s breasts, I think — at least coupled to a desire to touch them.”
Roxane Gay: “Almanzo ‘Manly’ Wilder. . . . I am always going to be very fond of a decent man who knows when to tame something wild and when to let it run free.”
Larry Doyle: “Even as a boy of six, I knew Laura Petrie had more going on than the Mom Thing.”
David Shields: “Oh my goodness, Barbara Feldon. . . . Either ‘Get Smart’ mapped my entire sexual life over the next fifty years, or my psyche got back-formed onto the show.”
”CRUSH: Writers Reflect on Love, Longing and the Lasting Power of Their First Celebrity Crush
A star-studded collection of essays from acclaimed and bestselling authors and celebrities that illuminates the lasting power of desire and longing, and celebrates our initiation into the euphoria, pain, and mystery that is our first celebrity crush.
You never forget your first crush . . .
CRUSH brings together stories of heartbreak, humiliation, and hilarity from a roster of popular luminaries, including James Franco, Carrie Fisher, Stephen King, Roxane Gay, Jodi Picoult, Emily Gould, and Hanna Rosin, who share intimate memories of that first intense taste of love. Here are funny, whimsical, sometimes cringe-worthy tales of falling head over heels for River Phoenix, Mary Tyler Moore, Howard Cosell, Jared Leto, and a host of other pop culture icons.
A few contributors channeled their devotion into obsessively writing embarrassing fan letters. Some taped pics in school lockers. Others decorated their bedroom walls with posters. For tweenaged Karin Tanabe, it was discovering bad boy Andy Garcia—playing the gun-loving mobster Vincent Corleone in The Godfather III. Barbara Graham unsuccessfully staked out an apartment on Park Avenue for a glimpse of her blue-eyed soulmate, Paul Newman. There was only one puppy for six-year-old Jodi Picoult—Donny Osmond—while Jamie Brisick’s pre-teen addiction was Speed Racer.
Swoon-worthy and unforgettable, the essays in CRUSH will leave you laughing, make you cry, and keep you enthralled—just like your first celebrity crush.