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Marriage was never in my plans and I’ve always thought that was fine. Not everybody agrees, though. When I’m taking to people-usually women-and they learn I’ve never been married, some of them look at me with pity.”
With this intro, Eleanore Wells, the author of The Spinsterlicious Life, 20 Life Lessons for Living Happily Single & Childfree, invites the reader into her life as a single woman.
Eleanore is a smart, attractive and talented 45+year old woman…who is Single. I ‘met’ her on Twitter and was delighted when she asked me to review her book. Her dating stories have a familiar ring–the miscommunications, navigating sex with a new partner, bad first dates and all the other little funny, or not so funny, incidents one expects with dating.
What sets The Spinsterlicious Life apart from most dating narratives is the glimpse at what it’s like to be questioned, challenged and even derided for making a choice to remain a single woman. And childless. Her stories are full of statements you just can’t imagine someone have the nerve to say to her face.
Wells’ book, The Spinsterlicious Life, is a compilation of blog posts from the blog of the same name. And more. There’s a chapter on all the famous murder cases of men who murdered their wives. And the chapter about learning to deal with female friends who can’t stop talking about their children. You can’t help but chuckle at the hilarious chapter on jokes about single women. The reader is meant to understand that Eleanore Wells has a sense of humor about her choice, though I do wonder if she isn’t at times a bit wistful about never having married. More than once she mentions “if I had a husband” in sharing a particular story where having a strong man around might have been useful. Admittedly it’s something I do occasionally as well.
I’m single and have been so for roughly 10 years. A couple of long dating relationships, but no second marriage. I appreciate the freedom that being single offers and I’ve experienced that odd person at the table feeling as well. Our culture seems to expect that women will marry, more so than men. And, it can be uncomfortable at times. Yet as I read her stories, I am reminded that women who choose to remain single are every bit as powerful, fulfilled and successful as married women.
The Spinsterlicious Life is a fun read. Anyone who’s ever dated will enjoy reading about her escapades. Eleanore Wells presents us with a strong positive role model of a single woman. It’s reassuring to know that it is possible to navigate the dating world and survive.
You can find Eleanore Wells’ book on The Spinsterlicious Life blog, and on Ms. Well’s Amazon page - here.
This is not a paid review, though I did receive a free copy of The Spinsterlicious Life.
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