Three Women
NOW A SERIES ON STARZ STARRING SHAILENE WOODLEY * BETTY GILPIN * DeWANDA WISE * GABRIELLE CREEVY * with BLAIR UNDERWOOD
“Staggeringly intimate...Groundbreaking.” —Entertainment Weekly
“A breathtaking and important book.” —Cheryl Strayed
“Extraordinary...A nonfiction literary masterpiece.” —Elizabeth Gilbert
#1 New York Times Bestseller and a Best Book of the Year by: The Washington Post * NPR * The Atlantic * New York Public Library * Vanity Fair * PBS * Time * Economist * Entertainment Weekly * Financial Times * Shelf Awareness * Guardian * Sunday Times * BBC * Esquire * Good Housekeeping * Elle * Real Simple * And more
A riveting true story about the sex lives of three real American women “who are carnal, brave, and beautifully flawed” (People, Book of the Week), based on nearly a decade of reporting.
Lina, a young mother in suburban Indiana whose marriage has lost its passion, reconnects with an old flame through social media and embarks on an affair that quickly becomes all-consuming. Maggie, a seventeen-year-old high school student in North Dakota, allegedly engages in a relationship with her married English teacher; the ensuing criminal trial turns their quiet community upside down. Sloane, a successful restaurant owner in an exclusive enclave of the Northeast, is happily married to a man who likes to watch her have sex with other men and women.
Hailed as “a dazzling achievement” (Los Angeles Times) and “a riveting page-turner that explores desire, heartbreak, and infatuation in all its messy, complicated nuance” (The Washington Post), Lisa Taddeo’s Three Women has captivated readers, booksellers, and critics—and topped bestseller lists—worldwide. Based on eight years of immersive research, it is “an astonishing work of literary reportage” (The Atlantic) that introduces us to three unforgettable women—and one remarkable writer—whose experiences remind us that we are not alone.
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Readers say the book offers an intense, raw exploration of female desire through the lives of three women, highlighting themes of longing, trauma, and...
4.5 to 5.. I'm not quite sure what to write.. Just fell short for me. I know it was stories from three real women's lives. Just hard to follow, jumping timelines, the first part of Maggie's story telling the story in different person POV. The very long captures and no real breaks to know when time jumps were taking place. Just found it difficult to get into.
Three Women
by Lisa Taddeo
by Lisa Taddeo
Okay, so I do more of a "book babble" than a book review. Think of it like this, you and I meet up for coffee ☕ and a little chit chat 💬. You ask me what I'm reading.
And I say "I just finished 'Three Women ' by Lisa Taddeo"
And I say "I just finished 'Three Women ' by Lisa Taddeo"
It's been close to a week now since I read this book. And I'm still thinking about it throughout the day. And I still have no idea how to write about it. It was an experience. The book is amazing. The prose is lush and concise at the same time. It's nonfiction, the story of the lives of three women. But it's so easy to get swept away in it that it feels like a novel. Okay, I had some thoughts while reading it.
First, it is a lonely book to read. Nearly every page I stopped and sighed and wished I could talk about what I had just read. More than any other book in recent memory, I wanted to share this experience as a reader.
Second, it felt like watching a documentary about an alien species and then being startled when they display familiar human traits. These three women each lead such very very different lives from me. And yet there are these touchpoints that are so relatable. Usually painfully relatable.
Third, I think an alternate title could have been "Are The Straights Okay? "
In the end it's a story about three women and their desires. But this is "desire" as a big concept, desire that encompasses so many different facets. Not simple or straightforward. Not clean, and not always nice. But true, and genuine. Very difficult at times. Heartbreaking even. Beautifully told, but achingly haunting as well. There is no simple answer at the end. No moral to the story that comes neatly wrapped up and ties everything together.
There are no lessons. But it's not about proving a point, it's about telling three stories. And those three stories were told exceptionally well.
My only complaints, and it was enough to drop it a star but not enough to ruin the story. One is that all three women are straight white women. And there were a handful times where the language was extremely straight. Bordering on excluding the queer experience.
And in all three stories weight and weight obsessions is part of the story. I mean... it's three women in present America. So weight is already a part of the story. But it's the way it's addressed that I didn't love. Too many times being thin was portrayed as being successful. Not just desirable, which is a hard reality, but also successful.
Lisa Taddeo’s “Three Women” is a profound and unsettling examination of female desire that delves into complex emotional landscapes rather than merely presenting a straightforward narrative. The book offers an intimate portrayal of its three main subjects—Maggie, Lina, and Sloane—revealing how their lives are shaped by not only longing but also manipulation, coercion, and the gradual decline of self-worth.
Maggie’s experience stands out as particularly troubling. Her relationship with a teacher, which should have been protective, instead becomes a harrowing example of how power can be abused under the guise of intimacy. Lina’s story similarly highlights the emotional scars of unmet needs and the frantic search for validation, suggesting that her affair is more about a desperate need for connection than true passion.
Sloane’s narrative diverges slightly, presenting an ambiguous exploration of agency and performance. It raises questions about whether she is genuinely empowered or acting out empowerment for others’ enjoyment. Taddeo intentionally leaves these questions unanswered, adding layers to the book's complexity.
Ultimately, “Three Women” reminds us that desire is seldom simple; it is influenced by personal history, trauma, and the narratives we construct for ourselves. Through her deep listening and empathetic rendering of these women’s lives, Taddeo highlights the painful yet essential stories within us all.
This book does not offer comfort but confrontation, challenging readers to rethink their understanding of longing, consent, and the subtle compromises women navigate. Its honesty and depth make it a memorable read that provokes thought and invites reflection on the intricacies of desire.
Fascinating, devastating, and powerful. I'm not sure why I expected this book to be more of a reflection of women's sexuality overall, but it isn't. It's specifically about three women, who are not representative of all women. And all three have trauma in their pasts, so lots of trigger warnings with this book. But I thought it was well done, engaging, and worth a read. Maggie's story is especially eye-opening. Her identity has not been changed, and her story became very public. If you think a 17 year old is partly responsible when they get involved with a teacher, you'll probably change your mind by the end of her story.
This was an interesting read though I tend to stay away from non-fiction. Still sort of processing Taddeo’s intention with the story.
Three women are followed for 8 ish years—Maggie, Lina & Sloan—a loveless marriage, grooming of a high school student by a beloved teacher, and uncertainty regarding sense of self identity. We hear the desires and love, rejection and heartbreak, and there’s a sense of familiarity in some parts of their stories that made me feel connected.
BUT—I expected the stories to be a little more diverse—not three white women and shallow men. It felt a little over descriptive and repetitive at times, and the ending left me wondering how these women ended up.
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