Pauline Kramer-Saxon tells her story, as well as those of a wonderfully diverse cast of women (and some men) who pass through her lingerie store, Secret Women’s Business. “It’s amazing the things people will tell you while they observe themselves, near naked, in the change room mirror,” says Pauline. The stories run a gamut of emotions involving love, marriage, divorce, sex of many kinds, joy, sorrow, loss and body image. What they all have in common is a love of lingerie. While each story is based on true life experiences, names and personal details have been changed to protect identities. Representing the third generation of a family of lingerie manufacturers, Pauline has that rare ability to just look at someone and know their size and the perfect garment to fit them. Her story reaches back three generations to wartime Europe. By a mere twist of fate, her family survived and emigrated to Australia as refugees in the late 40’s and as 10 pound Poms in the early 50’s and started making lingerie again. This is a book that will make you laugh and cry and sometimes compel you to do both at the same time.
