ago right after I'd given birth to my fourth child in 6 years. I occurred to me that, according to the books I'd read throughout my pregnancies, I flunked Pregnancy four times, and yet all my babies were beautiful and healthy and I had seemed to survive, as well. Clearly it wasn't the books and "experts" who'd gotten me through the weight gains, the outie belly buttons, the horny dreams and the chapped nipples of early nursing--it was the candid and generous advice of my Girlfriends who had already walked a mile in the mommy moccasins. There was nothing more wondrous or useful or as liberating as the insight and candor of my trusted women friends. Not only did I get reassurance and unconditional love from my Girlfriends, but I also quickly discovered that humor was the key to surviving the fears and insecurities that we women experience as we morph from women to MOTHERS. Ever since then, I've relied on my many trusted Girlfriends to help my navigate marriage, parenting, careers and to keep recycling and trying to stay fit. My first book, THE GIRLFRIENDS' GUIDE TO PREGNANCY, was actually a ground breaker in what we now call "peer to peer" relationships and marketing. I wrote about the stories and shocking experiences of my Girlfriends, as well as their accumulated wisdom and advice earned on the job, so to speak. The GFG to PREGNANCY hit an untapped market, not only in America, but in about 20 foreign countries who have translated and sold it for the last 17 years. For the first time, women were hearing from other women in their shoes about the worries, successes, joy and fears of being pregnant and first-time mothers. No judgment, no rules, just candid revelations that only a best friend would share with you in the privacy of your bedroom. Along with that intimacy came a few tears and endless laughs to reassure the readers and let them know that they were perfect mothers as they were. After the success of GFG TO PREGNANCY'S great success, more books followed in short order. The GFG TO SURVIVING THE FIRST YEAR OF MOTHERHOOD, THE GIRLFRIENDS' GUIDE TO TODDLERS and THE GFG TO GETTING YOUR GROOVE BACK all continued in the same manner to share intimate secrets of women and their best efforts to make the best of what can only be called an "out of body" experience that impacts everything from one's marriage to career to self-esteem. And now, after 24 years of marriage and making a family with the father of her four kids, Vicki has experienced the devastation of divorce. She dealt with a lot of her sadness and new life as a single woman in her many blogs published by Huffington Post. She learned a lot during that time "alone" and now she has two thrilling projects about to be launchd dealing with this new stage of her life. Bravo Networks and B=NBC Universal Television have greenlit the pilot for a new series called 'THE GIRLFRIENDS' GUIDE TO DIVORCE," a 1-hour dramedy created by Marti Noxon and Executive Produced by Vicki Iovine. Shooting begins Oct. 20 and the show should be delivered to the network by Dec. 14. Keep an eye out for it early next year. Additionally, Vicki is currently writing THE GIRLFRIENDS' GUIDE TO DIVORCE, which takes women from separation all the way to finding new love. It's chock full of advice and intimate stories of those who've already jumped into the abyss of Divorce and survived, it has great advice about looking after the children, the money and one's self-esteem while enduring the most frightening, most humiliating and most heartbreaking time in her life. Vicki shares coping strategies for dating and dealing with the loneliness of no longer being part of a pair. She talks about preparing for "New Sex" after years of marriage and she shares the secrets that led her to find the man of her dreams. It's a tough journey, but it's worth the pain if a woman is willing to stay open to her Girlfriends' advice.
