CALLING INVISIBLE WOMEN (Jeanne Ray)

Jeanne Ray has written a book that should be required reading for women around the world.  Calling Invisible Women will resonate loudly with almost any woman, from shy teenage girls and distracted young mothers to devoted wives and retired career women.  Nearly all of us, even those of us with happy relationships and fulfilling careers, know what it feels like to be invisible, to be minimized, to have our most loving and caring actions taken for granted and our needs overlooked time and time again because we are always there to clean up the mess and catch our loved ones if they happen to fall.

Clovis Hobart is shocked to wake up one day invisible and shocked even more when she realizes that her family doesn't notice.  She continues to cook breakfast and take care of the dry cleaning, discovering that no one takes the time to REALLY look at her.  After scaring the wits out of her best (and visible) friend, Gilda, who DOES notice that she is gone, Clovis makes an appointment with her doctor to discuss her condition and is shocked when even HE doesn't notice that he is examining an invisible woman.  When she finds a notice in the paper about a support group for invisible women she joins and discovers that she is not alone and that her invisibility is probably the result of interactions between 3 drugs sold by Dexter-White, a major drug manufacturer that refuses to acknowledge a problem with their best-selling medications.  Clovis also discovers that invisibility can be both fun and rewarding as she sheds her clothing and embarks on a series of both small and super-hero-like adventures in the name of improving  the world.

Clovis is lucky.  She has supportive friends, a husband and family who truly love her, and the imagination and drive to make the most of her "condition."  This novel is both hilarious and heartbreaking.  I wish I could say what Hilma Wolitzer says about it, but she already has, so I'll just quote her:" Jeanne Ray is truly wise and funny about family, friendship, and love--about the ways in which we see (and don't see) each other."  I agree completely.  I identified with this book and I think that most of the women I know would, too!