9½ Narrow

My Life in Shoes
Shoes tell compelling stories, and Patricia Morrisroe, a longtime shoe lover, has a vivid memory of the confirmation “wedgies” that celebrated her entrance to adulthood; the granny boots that marked her first love; the ostrich flats she wore to a girlfriend’s funeral; and the New Balance sneakers she bought her elderly mother who was losing her balance and too proud to use a cane.

Weaving anecdotes with tidbits of cultural history, Morrisroe offers an insightful memoir on the zeitgeist of the shoe through the decades, as well as hilarious portraits of the unforgettable characters who shared her journey. There’s the classic “mean girl” in Catholic school brogues; the Woody Allen–type boyfriend who fell in love with her Annie Hall oxfords, and the husband whose vast collection of vintage Puma sneakers threatened to overwhelm their apartment and derail their marriage. Morrisroe wrote about several of these memorable personalities in a popular Modern Love column for the New York Times and in several essays for Vogue. In 91⁄2 Narrow, Morrisroe expands her meditations, offering a witty and poignant “memoir in shoes” that will delight and inspire women of all ages.

Chatty and endearing, this episodic memoir flows … Morrisroe recreates many of her shoe lust milestones growing up in the 1960s in Andover, Mass., shopping for white Mary Janes, wedgies, Beatle boots, and ghillies…Straightforward and funny, Morrisroe proves to be a great companion as she navigates shoe stores, high heels, and foot fetishes.

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