I first saw the Berman sisters – therapist Laura and urologist Jennifer – on TV: two smart and attractive young women talking about sex. It was a revelation to me that sex could be discussed in such a public forum. They broke ground for women in media.

Their book, For Women Only (also reviewed on this page), was a honest, fact-based look at women’s sexuality and health concerns. “Real Sex for Real Women” is written by Laura Berman alone. I say “written” but I suspect a staff of ghost writers were behind this uneven text. The book has some good information over a wide range of topics but none are given adequate attention. The writing is unnecessarily breezy, like the text in a women’s magazine with cliche verbs that no one really uses.

The book is full of photos of naked (no genitals, sorry) and lingerie-clad people, illustrating all the wonderful things you can do with your heterosexual partner. The back cover promises “no supermodel fakery,” but the models are glossy and trim–not relatable to the average person, especially many of us over 50. But then again, I don’t think we are the audience for this book.

I wanted to like this book because I’m a fan of the Bermans, and I tried, but I couldn’t finish the book. The Hollywood-ization of coupling was not helpful nor attractive to me.