MATTHEWS, Kathy 1949-

PERSONAL: Born July 1, 1949, in New York, NY; daughter of James Ignatious and Loretta (Foohs) Matthews; married Frederic W. Hills (an editor), March 24, 1980; children: two sons. Education: Johns Hopkins University, B.A., 1971.

ADDRESSES: Agent—c/o Broadway Books, 1540 Broadway, New York, NY 10036.

CAREER: McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, NY, editor, 1974-76; Viking Press, Inc., New York, NY, editor, 1976-77; Random House, Inc., New York, NY, editor, 1977-80; writer, 1980—.

WRITINGS:

On Your Own: Ninety-nine Alternatives to a Nine-to-Five Job, Random House (New York, NY), 1976.

Take a Letter Yourself, Ballantine (New York, NY), 1982.

(With Sophia Loren) On Women and Beauty, Morrow (New York, NY), 1985.

(With Sally Haddock) The Making of a Woman Vet, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 1985.

Medical Makeover, Morrow (New York, NY), 1986.

Ballet Is the Best Exercise, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 1986.

(With Dr. Robert Giller) Maximum Metabolism, Putnam (New York, NY), 1989.

(With Pamela Gallin) The Savvy Mom's Guide to Medical Care: Everything You Need to Know to Get Top-Quality Care for Your Child, from One of the Nation's Leading Physicians, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1999.

(With Elisabeth Guthrie) The Trouble with Perfect: How Parents Can Avoid the Overachievement Trap and Still Raise Successful Children, Broadway Books (New York, NY), 2002.

Contributor to books, including Nutripoints: The Breakthrough Point System for Optimal Nutrition, Harper (New York, NY), 1991; Natural Prescriptions, Ballantine (New York, NY), 1995; and The Frazzled Mom's Guide to Medical Care, Golden Books (New York, NY), 1999.

SIDELIGHTS: Kathy Matthews once told CA: "Take a Letter Yourself is a funny book about the life of the American secretary. No one pays secretaries much attention, yet they run America. Most offices function just fine without the boss, but when the secretary is out, bedlam is the result. I also thought it was about time that some general office myths be exploded. Take a Letter was my revenge on all the terrible bosses I worked for in the past."

Other Matthews books address the concerns of parents. As coauthor of The Savvy Mom's Guide to Medical Care: Everything You Need to Know to Get Top-Quality Care for Your Child, from One of the Nation's Leading Physicians, the author, along with pediatrician Pamela Gallin, offer "pragmatic (and occasionally psychologically minded) advice on controlling your child's medical care," according to a Publishers Weekly reviewer. Chapters cover choosing a physician, identifying common childhood ailments, and emergencyroom and surgery procedure from a parents' point of view. Library Journal contributor Anne Tomlin summed up The Savvy Mom's Guide to Medical Care as "a fine handbook" especially geared toward the first-time parent. In 2002 Matthews collaborated with Dr. Elisabeth Guthrie on The Trouble with Perfect: How Parents Can Avoid the Overachievement Trap and Still Raise Successful Children. This work centers on the psychological, rather than physical, aspect of childhood well-being, noting that the rise in teen suicide, depression, and drug use has escalated since the 1980s, coinciding with a culture that stresses "perfection" at an early age, whether academically, athletically, or socially. Guthrie and Matthews assess the pressures on contemporary children and advise parents distinguish good parenting from parental pressure.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Library Journal, August, 1999, Anne Tomlin, review of The Savvy Mom's Guide to Medical Care: Everything You Need to Know to Get Top-Quality Care for Your Child, from One of the Nation's Leading Physicians, p. 79.

New York Times Book Review, February 6, 1977.

Publishers Weekly, August 2, 1999, review of The Savvy Mom's Guide to Medical Care, p. 127.^*