BETSY LERNER is the author of the popular guide book for writers The Forest for the Trees: An Editor’s Advice to Writers (Riverhead Books), and the memoirs Food and Loathing: A Life Measured Out in Calories (Simon & Schuster) and The Bridge Ladies: A Memoir (Harper). She received an MFA from Columbia University in poetry. A publishing professional for more than 30 years, Lerner is a literary agent in New York. Shred Sisters: A Novel (Grove Press) is her debut work of fiction.