After the Blues — Kathy Lette

Now an adult on "L" plates, Debbie and her girlfriends reveal what women talk about when there's no men around. Prepare yourself for full-frontal comedic camaraderie. After breaking-off with both her best friend and boyfriend Debbie runs away to the inner-city world of punk rock, dodgy jobs, new mates and R-rated adventures. It's the kaleidoscopic 1980s, a time of perms, shoulder pads, Blondie and Bowie, prawn cocktails, fondue parties and mistaking promiscuity for feminism. The blokes are laughing all the way to the sperm bank - of course they're for 'free love' as they don't have to pay for it. Preyed upon by married men and misogynistic bosses, girlfriends are the only people you can rely on. Debbie's female pals are her human wonder bras - uplifting and supportive. But it's not until the Girls' Night Out that these friends really peel off to their emotional undies. And it's a psychological strip tease which reveals some jaw-dropping truths. With equal parts humour and pathos, Kathy Lette, one of the pioneering voices of contemporary feminism, exposes all the fun and foolish things girls do when scrabbling to find our high-heeled feet in the world.