Self-Made Man

I felt the same as the testimonial reads on the cover of Self-Made Man, "I was hooked from page 1" . The way Norah Vincent recaps the life changing experience she had makes you feel like you were right there with her. I was immediately engaged in the second chapter where she talks about meeting a man in an Men's bowling night.

"As he extended his arm to shake my hand, I extended mine, too, in a sweeping motion. Our palms met with a soft pop and I squeezed assertively the way I'd seen men do at parties when they gathered in someone's living room to watch a football game. From the outside, this ritual had always seemed overdone to me. Why all the macho ceremony? But from the inside it was completely different. There was something so warm and bonded in this handshake. Receiving it was a rush, an instant inclusion in a camaraderie that felt very old and practiced." (Vincent, 25)

It is interesting to me that women see the ritual of a big, hearty handshake as overdone. The macho ceremony is something that is shared between men but also something Ned (Norah's male alter-ego) had never experienced, and from the inside she saw it very differently. I cherish that form of friendship and camaraderie and having another perspective, especially from the other sex, is very interesting.