As a twenty year old college student it feels odd to read how not even forty years ago it was commonly believed that women did not have sexual fantasies. This was during the second half of the women's liberation movement that occurred during the 1960s and 1970s, so author Nancy Friday decided that she would write an ad in magazines requesting women's fantasies to prove that yes, women are indeed just as sexual as men. To her it was another attempt at female sexual liberation; to others, including feminist icons such as Gloria Steinem, Friday's was a horrific idea that would limit women to sexual objects to control more than ever. Even with all the controversy surrounding her, however, Friday managed to accumulate thousands of letters and taped interviews from women ready to speak out their most intimate fantasies. The result was published in 1973 as "My Secret Garden," the first of several sexual fantasy books Friday has written over four decades.

The copy I bought at a long gone Borders store is the twenty-fifth anniversary edition which is also sold on EdenFantasys. There is a preface by the author and an afterward defending Nancy Friday that are new to this edition. There is also a modern fantasy added to the lesbian section; if you did not read the introductory blurb right before this particular fantasy, you will probably be as boggled as I was as to why the hell Uma Thurman is mentioned in a book from 1973. Since Friday has written other fantasy collections such as "Forbidden Flowers" and "Women on Top" since "Garden," I do not see why this fantasy had to be included in this edition. Otherwise, the book itself appears to be the same as the original edition.

Some books have the problem of having too little information in the table of contents. "My Secret Garden" has the opposite problem: it's too specific. The only way it could be more specific is if every woman's name also had a page number. The book also has sections and subsections, as shown in the table of contents:

Introduction: Twenty-Five Years in the Garden
1. "Tell Me What You Are Thinking About," He Said.
2. "Why Fantasize When You Have Me?"
Frustration: Madge, Dot
Insuffiency: Louella, Irene, Annette, Maria
Sex Enhancement: Patricia, Suzanne
And so on.

This is useful if you want to find specific types of fantasies, but having the names included just makes it harder to focus on a specific thing. If you're just reading this for smut (or if you're reading this for Friday's psychological commentary), do you really care about their names? The names aren't even their real ones, anyway. Can you even remember MY name without going to the bottom of the page? Yeah, thought so.

Each section begins with Friday's commentary about a certain type of fantasy. It may be in a psychoanalytical or behavior-cognitive approach, but this is when Friday tries to explain how certain fantasies may come to be. These are more for people into sexual psychology, so if you are not interested in this type of introduction you are free to go on to the fantasies. The fantasies themselves usually begin with the woman introducing themselves: class, education, sexuality, and so on. Most of these women are young, married or engaged, middle class, and white. There are lesbians and women of color present, but they make up less than 10% of the contributors. If you're seeking minority fantasies, "Women on Top" will be of more use to you.

What I like best about "My Secret Garden," and what keeps me reading, is that the fantasies are quite varied, from watersports to lesbian affairs to "earth goddess" to teacher/student. What is also really interesting is that the women from the most sheltered backgrounds usually have some of the most vivid and porn-like fantasies in this book. Granted, "Forbidden Flowers" and "Women on Top" have some very graphic fantasies (and more so in total than their older sister), but "Garden" still isn't a wuss in any way. Salty language abounds and some of the fantasies (which I will not divulge both to prevent spoilers and possible banning from EF) have a good chance of freaking you out. For the most part, however, there is something for everyone in here.

Would I recommend this book to others? Yes indeed I would. "My Secret Garden" may be criticized as "anti-feminist," but that label is definitely undeserved. If you or someone you know is just coming into their sexuality, this book can teach them just as much about what they want sexually as any sex toy. I know I am thankful for finding my personal secret garden.

I've been using this book to help me get really turned on for years. This still occurred after writing my review. So many of the fantasies are so fascinating I just have the compulsion to keep reading and rereading them. Isn't that a sign that it's good reading?