Outing the Mermaid

Outing the Mermaid takes you on a journey into the 1960s and 70s world of civil rights, feminism, Vietnam, gurus, Mafiosi, the Pill, the Beatles, class distinctions, astrology, and the eternal mystery of what’s going on between men and women.

Subtitled A novel of love, fear & misogyny, Ann Medlock’s roman å clef is a journey into the life of Lee Palmer, a smart woman making some bad choices as she tries to find her place in that Mad Men world. Divorced, a mom, and working “outside the home” in a time when that was odd, Lee pioneers a path she finds repeatedly blocked by misogyny—and by her own unrealized programming for submissiveness.

Early readers, in these “lean-in” times, have reported shouting No, don’t do that! when Lee makes a wrong move. They’ve also fist-pumped in triumph when she gets something right. It’s a deeply engaging story, to say the least.