Suzy Gershman (April 13, 1948 – July 25, 2012) was an American writer who authored sixteen "Born to Shop"

guidebook A guide book or travel guide is "a book of information about a place designed for the use of visitors or tourists". It will usually include information about sights, accommodation, restaurants, transportation, and activities. Maps of varying det ...

s over the course of twenty-six years, beginning in 1986. Her

travel guide A guide book or travel guide is "a book of information about a place designed for the use of visitors or tourists". It will usually include information about sights, accommodation, restaurants, transportation, and activities. Maps of varying det ...

s, which cover the shopping scenes in counties and cities, including

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

and

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, have sold more than four million copies as of 2012. Six guidebooks are now revised and republished every two years -

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

. Gershman's diet book ''How To Take 20 Pounds Off Your Man'' was featured in a "Diet Book Club Deep Dive" on the podcast ''Maintenance Phase'', co-hosted by

Aubrey Gordon Aubrey Gordon (born 1983), also known as Your Fat Friend, is an author, podcaster, and activist. She writes about fatness, fat acceptance The fat acceptance movement, also known as fat pride, fat empowerment, and fat activism, is a social m ...

and former ''

You're Wrong About ''You're Wrong About'' is an American history and pop culture podcast created by journalist Michael Hobbes and writer Sarah Marshall. It has been hosted by Marshall since its inception; Hobbes also hosted until 2021. Launched in May 2018, the ...

'' host Michael Hobbes. The podcast called the book "a manual for creep behavior masquerading as a diet book".

Biography

Gershman was born Suzy Kalter on April 13, 1948, to Gloria and S. S. Kalter in Syracuse, New York. She received a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

Russian history The history of Russia begins with the histories of the East Slavs. The traditional start-date of specifically Russian history is the establishment of the Rus' state in the north in 862, ruled by Varangians. Staraya Ladoga and Novgorod became ...

and language from the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

in 1969. Kalter moved to New York City, where she worked in

advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...

and

public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. ...

. There she met her future husband, writer

Michael Gershman Michael Gershman (October 11, 1939 – January 4, 2000) was an American writer, publicist, and music producer. Biography Gershman was born in Brooklyn, New York. After graduating from Brown University, Gershman worked briefly as a newspaper re ...

, while working in New York. The couple married in 1975 and remained together until his death in 2000.New York Times: "Michael Gershman to Wed Suzy Kalter"
November 16, 1975 Gershman and Kalter moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

. She worked for ''

People Magazine ''People'' is an American weekly magazine that specializes in celebrity news and human-interest stories. It is published by Dotdash Meredith, a subsidiary of IAC. With a readership of 46.6 million adults in 2009, ''People'' had the l ...

'' and began appearing on talk shows during the 1980s. Kalter took her husband's last name in 1986, when she began publishing the first of her "Born To Shop" books. She would also contribute pieces to other publications, including the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

'' and the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''. She moved to Paris following her husband's death in 2000. In 2004, she released her

memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based in the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobio ...

about her experience as a widow entitled ''C'est la Vie''. Gershman died from cancer in

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

, July 25, 2012 at the age of 64. She is survived by her son Aaron; her brother, Steven Kalter; and a granddaughter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gershman, Suzy 1948 births 2012 deaths American travel writers University of Texas at Austin College of Liberal Arts alumni American women travel writers 21st-century American women