- Terry Garrity
Joan Theresa Garrity, (born abt 1940), is an American
author , best known as the author of "The Sensuous Woman ".She was raised in
Lee's Summit, Missouri [ [http://www.kclibrary.org/localhistory/media.cfm?mediaID=110633 Kansas City, MO Library bio] ] and she studied atPalm Beach Junior College in Florida. She worked on the staff of publisherLyle Stuart and published a book about shopping in New York.In 1969 she published, under the
pseudonym of "J.", "The Sensuous Woman ", subtitled "the first how-to book for the female who yearns to be all woman". It was also published as "The Way to Become the Sensuous Woman". The book spent eight weeks at No. 1 on the "New York Times" bestseller list and nearly a year on the list overall. [John Bear, "The #1 New York Times Best Seller: intriguing facts about the 484 books that have been #1 New York Times bestsellers since the first list, 50 years ago", Berkeley: Ten Speed Press, 1992] In later editions, she used the name Terry Garrity. A spoken-word record album was made in 1969, based on the book, called "J - The Way To Become A Sensuous Woman". [Voxpop, [http://www.voxpopmusic.com/ViewProdDetails.asp?prod_code=11676&Prod_name=The+Way+To+Become+A+Sensuous+Woman&CAT_CODE=15&SUBCAT_CODE=36 "J - The Way To Become A Sensuous Woman" (LP)] ] [Hyp Records, [http://www.hipwax.com/music/oddpop/sex_ed.html "The Amorous Arts"] ]In 1977, she published "Total Loving: how to love and be loved for the rest of your life", and in 1984, "Story of "J": the author of The Sensuous Woman tells the bitter price of her crazy success", with her brother John Garrity as co-author. The resemblance to the title
Story of O , was presumably intentional. In this book she and her brother discuss how she coped withbipolar disorder . [John Garrity, [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/features/1998/weekly/980907/teeingoff.html "Teeing Off: The Wrong Diagnosis?] Sports Illutrated/CNN, September 2, 1998]References
Further reading
* Bill Althaus, "Putting 'J' behind Her: For Terry Garrity, Success Was Almost Fatal", "Kansas City Magazine", October 1984
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