help needed....

[betsy]

many years ago i read a fascinating book but can't recall the title or author. It was about a woman who slipped into an alien world in which gender, social position, and all manner of conventions were rearranged. There were non designating gender pronouns and it was a type of utopia. she was increasingly drawn to this alternate world, though she struggled with accepting if it was real or hallucinatory. In her present, was a vision of a futuristic earth that was pretty bleak. she was considered insane and was even i think hospitalized. there was a scene that stays with me, she is very poor and ruminated about drinking warm water to fool the body into thinking it was full of food.
does this ring a bell with anyone? i would really like to reread this novel and have this mystery solved!
thanks, betsy

[Cindywho]

That may be Woman on the Edge of Time by Marge Piercy. I read it years ago, but your description rang a bell. - Cindy

[Michele]

Betsy - could it be The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin?

[Sandi]

It's definitely not "The Left Hand of Darkness". I don't know what it is, but the plot doesn't sound anything like "The Left Hand of Darkness".

[Michele]

Guess I was thinking of the gender confusion aspect...it's been a long time since I read it!

[betsy]

thanks cindy - it was Woman on the Edge of Time. yeah! - now i can add this to my collection of favs and i cant wait to reread it.
thanks again,
betsy