Amazon The Manipulation, Love, Lust and Betrayal of a Career Woman Book Web Page Xlibris Bookstore Category:  Drama Publisher: Xlibris ISBN-10:  1425772307 Type: Fiction Pages: 92 Copyright: May 24, 2007 ISBN-13: 9781425772307 Four scenes and an epilogue each capturing the different faces of the modern woman and collectively painting a realistic portrait of urban romance and empowerment. The Manipulation, Love, Lust, and Betrayal of a Career Woman, a play of four scenes with epilogue, explores the kinds of challenges a person might encounter in the search for love and fulfillment in today’s confusing, fast-paced, lonely hearts world. The focus is primarily on a collection of characters whose professional and personal lives frequently collide. When Vanessa, a thirty-something psychiatrist, reveals to the audience, in “Manipulation,” that the mind is a “fascinating tool,” Peter, her married patient, conjures up images of infidelity and acts out his erotic feelings toward her in therapy. Vanessa finds him difficult to resist. But their exchange flips from romantic to adversarial as Peter reveals his desire to end his affair because his wife is pregnant. In “Love,” Taylor, a successful lawyer “who has her life in order,” struggles to find one meaningful relationship that will ignite her passionless life. Against the backdrop of haute couture’s dressing rooms and catwalks, “Lust” examines the divergence between deep emotion and superficiality. “Betrayal” finds Jada seeking solace in another man’s arms when her husband becomes distant and her marriage loses the love it once had. The play’s epilogue, “Resolution,” gives each main character a final chance to express themselves as they poignantly reflect on the complexities of their lives. This play looks at the peaks and valleys of contemporary courtship, giving both women and men their say. The play contains modern day morality tales that are intended to entertain and provoke thought.

Disturbing Truths You Can't Deny
5/5
By Apex Reviews

Vanessa wants to continue her illicit affair with the married Peter, who's insistent upon breaking the whole thing off ever since his wife got pregnant...Taylor has no problem being with Grant purely for physical pleasure, but he wants a deeper emotional bond...Miranda is a stunningly beautiful runway model, but she wants to be noticed beyond her looks...a neglected housewife, Jada just wants to be noticed at all...

Four different women, four different situations, but each with a common desire: to be happy. Whether through guilt-free sex or a satisfying, committed relationship, each of the women knows what she wants and is determined to pursue it to the fullest; the only problem each one encounters is coming to the difficult realization that what we want often doesn't want us back.

Much is often made of the fact that some (if not most) men would prefer to engage in relationships based solely on sex, while women seek more fulfilling commitments - but Vanessa and Taylor prove to be exceptions to that rule. Perfectly content with sexually gratifying encounters, the two women find that on the fast track up the corporate ladder they can't afford to be distracted or weighed down by fleeting emotional concerns. Add to that the fact that they'd rather avoid enduring the same kind of pain and heartbreak they've suffered in the past, and their modus operandi becomes quite clear. Trouble is, when they get involved with men who reject the rigors of their "program," the rules of the game suddenly change, and they're forced to adapt in ways that take them into unfamiliar territory...

On the other hand, Miranda and Jada are used to men who see them only as eye or arm candy, but they know that there's more to themselves than just bodies and breasts. Seeking gratification from people who can actually see them for who they are - not what they are - they take chances on believing the words of those who may not actually prove entirely truthful in the end...

Either way, all four women are forced to come to grips with suddenly altered lives, redefining their particular reality in order to face the strange new circumstances now facing them. In his play, Williams does a commendable job of making each woman's transition plain and palpable, as well as the uncertainty they all face in light of the changes they are forced to make. In so doing, he makes their personal stories universal, transcribing the flurry of emotions that we all feel at some point in our own lives.

In a brilliant denouement, Williams masterfully weaves the fate of each individual woman into an ensemble of unraveling lies and pretenses until only the unfiltered truth remains. As a result, he further illustrates that while the women may be facing a range of different problems, the solutions are usually similar at the core: honesty often truly is the best policy.

The Manipulation, Love, Lust, And Betrayal Of A Career Woman is a rewarding read designed to take the ongoing debate between the sexes to the next level. No matter where you are in life, this play will surely prepare you to face the uncomfortable truths about your own "reality" that you may or may not be ready to change.