I’ve often thought to write a book review, but it was Altman’s “Thanks for Coming” that inspired me to finally follow through. The subtitle is “One Young Woman’s Quest for an Orgasm”, but I consider her story to more of a journey than a quest, as the author realizes sexual gratification is more about opening doors than the end result.

From meeting the Fairy Godmother of Masturbation and her introduction to vibrators, to visiting the mysterious “Orgasm People” and learning that orgasm can be more than the crotch sneeze she had set her sights upon, she shares explicitly of her experiences.

Altman has a talent for exposing her inner most thoughts through a wry, if not self deprecating sense of humor. She eventually comes to the conclusion this may actually be the potential source of her orgasm troubles, as opposed the original theory that she is simply rebelling against her painfully sexually open parents. Her humor not only makes “Thanks for Coming” a fun read, but introduces a near state of normalcy to things that would make most people cringe.

While some of the characters she meets offer conflicting and even far out advice on the topic of female orgasm, she clearly thought about and carefully considered what was being offered by sexperts and seemingly “perverts” alike. More than an expose however, Altman’s vulnerability and nativity shines through, and by the end you feel as though you know her. She is surely not the first person to wonder if she her desires and responses are normal, but she is clearly the first person who has been willing to bare all for the world to read. If there were a rating system, out of five stars I would easily give her 5 and a half. Read even just the first chapter and you will know precisely what I mean. Well done, Mara.