"Whitney Otto has woven a work of breathtaking texture. Art for the Ladylike is a love letter to the resilience and beauty of women who deign to make art. This book brought me back to myself." --Lidia Yuknavitch
"A fascinating and peripatetic memoir, Whitney Otto's fearless, free-range narrative investigates parenting, class, sexuality, and worlds beyond. Startling, funny, and compassionate--reminiscent of Rilke's Letters to a Young Poet--this is an invaluable guide to the life of the mind and the soul of an artist." --Diana Abu-Jaber
"I loved this fascinating memoir of a life experienced through the understanding of art. It's inventive, thoughtful, and deeply informed. Brava!" --Roxana Robinson
"In this inviting blend of biography and memoir, novelist Otto (How to Make an American Quilt) examines her life in terms of the women artists who influenced her....Otto provides a fascinating tour of art through the lens of her own experience. Creatives of all sorts will enjoy [her] wide-ranging insights." --Publishers Weekly
"It is not easy to be a woman who makes art, but reading about the lives of these female artists, one begins to feel like it is the only way to live." -Sierra Bellows, American Scholar
"Whitney Otto merges biography and memoir to generate a poetic and contemplative account of the women artists who have influenced her. ... Throughout the book, [she] further untangles the challenges at play between motherhood, domesticity and creativity. ... At a time when many people's career paths and ways of working are in flux, this book can provide solace that professional and private struggles are something all women can relate to." -HundredHeroines.org