Scarsdale Author Releases New Book

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Lauren Takes Leave is Scarsdale resident Julie Gerstenblatt’s new novel–just in time for summer reading.

About the book: Wife, mother, and middle school teacher Lauren Worthing needs some time off from her busy, suburban life. So when a jury duty summons arrives, it creates the perfect alibi for ditching her slightly unfulfilling career, slightly spoiled children, slightly absentee husband, and slightly criminal babysitter.
 With uninhibited friends like Jodi Moncrieff and Kat O'Connell by her side, Lauren takes leave of her senses and embarks on a weeklong pleasure bender.

From the chilly exam room of a local dermatologist’s office to the marble master bathroom of a suburban McMansion, Lauren explores deep, probing questions that come with middle age and upper middle class complacency. Questions like, who is she, really? And, why didn’t anyone tell her not to pole dance in Louboutins? Before the week is over, Lauren and her friends have moved far away from the chick-lit stereotypes they've become and closer to the lying, cheating, stealing (women) they didn't know they'd ever want to be.

About the Author

Julie Gerstenblatt is a former middle school English teacher who realized that it was time to leave the classroom when a lengthy stint on jury duty felt like the highlight of her career. As a comedy and culture writer for The Huffington Post and a humor columnist for The Scarsdale Inquirer and Scarsdale10583.com, Julie writes with candor about her life, her friends and family, and the particular demands of motherhood and wifedom in modern-day suburbia. She and her husband live with their two children in Scarsdale. Although she would love to live in the city, suburbia is the inspiration for most of her funny ideas, and so she will remain in Westchester until her neighbors kick her out. Lauren Takes Leave is her first novel.