Anna Mitchael is like a lot of twentysomething women with full lives. In her fast-moving world, she might be called on as a friend, coworker, daughter, girlfriend, confidante, brat, cynic, or domestic-goddess-in-training. But there’s one label she’s simply not ready to embrace: ma’am.
Like so many bright-eyed college graduates before her, Mitchael begins her twenties armed with the conviction that the world is hers for the taking. And she discovers that it is, mostly—only no one told her just how often she’d have to pick herself up off the floor along the way.
From moving to new cities to domestic disasters to the occasional nervous breakdown, Mitchael guides readers through the various stages of her self-discovery with disarming humor and—like the best of friends—unmitigated honesty. Written for every woman who’s experienced the ups and downs of trying to figure out who you’re really meant to be, Just Don’t Call Me Ma’am is a story of one woman and the choices that add up to be her twentysomething life—and of how sometimes you have to remember where you came from before you can figure out where you’re going.
Reviews
“Worlds away from her small-town roots, Anna Mitchael spent most of her twenties pretending she wasn’t from the South. In this engaging memoir, a reluctant belle finds peace in her past and reminds all of us that it’s not only okay to bloom where you’re planted, but sometimes it’s the very best decision you can make.”
—Celia Rivenbark, author of Belle Weather: Mostly Sunny With A Chance of Scattered Hissy Fits
“Mitchael’s twentysomething survival story will strike a nerve with young women who can’t wait to ditch their home states and parents’ values, along with their pastel sweaters, in favor of the black uniform of big city life. She encounters inevitable heartbreaks and hilarious awkward moments, but her progress toward self-acceptance is at the heart of her tale. Her analysis of “cohabitation crime” is not to be missed! Patient parents and grandmothers can take heart that their wisdom is not perpetually ignored.”
—Prudence Mackintosh, Texas grandmother and author of the Sneaker trilogy: Thundering Sneakers, Retreads, and Sneaking Out
About Anna Mitchael
Anna Mitchael began her writing career by instructing patrons of her lemonade stand to buy some “or else.” She made her living for nearly a decade by continuing to threaten people—this time as an advertising copywriter. Mitchael is a reformed nomad who recently returned home to Texas; she’ll tolerate "y’all," but reserves the right to raise hell when anyone calls her "ma’am.” You can read the daily chronicles of her life (with a side of extra-spicy jalapeños, please) at annamitchael.com.
