Synopses & Reviews
The “Princeton mom” who caused a stir with her controversial letter to the
Daily Princetonian offering advice to young women at Princeton about marrying early delivers more unvarnished truths in this smart, straightforward, and witty book of life lessons.
A graduate of Princeton’s class of 1977, Susan Patton garnered strong reactions from both naysayers and supporters with her controversial column published in the college newspaper in March of 2013. “Forget about having it all, or not having it all, leaning in or leaning out,” she wrote to undergraduate women at Princeton. “Here’s what you really need to know that nobody is telling you…find a husband on campus before you graduate. Yes, I went there.”
Now, in Marry Smart, Patton goes even further (with the benefit of hindsight) to give women everywhere the advice they need about marriage, motherhood, and happiness. It is a book of savvy advice mixed with anecdotes, recipes, and above all, a keen sense of humor. Patton covers topics such as college hook-up culture, how to spot a Good Boy, why it’s harder for smarter girls to date, how to maintain respect for yourself through all the nonsense, and much more. Aimed at college girls and graduates, this book has tips and life lessons for women everywhere who haven’t found a partner yet or are struggling to decide when it’s the right time for Mr. Right, or for whom Mr. Right has gone wrong.
As unerringly honest as Amy Chua’s Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, as practical as Steve Harvey’s Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man, and infused with Patton’s tell-it-like-it-is, homey charm, Marry Smart contains old-fashioned wisdom for a modern generation of women.
Review
“Every smart young woman should seriously consider Susan Patton’s commonsense advice. Sure, it’s controversial—but only because it’s so vital.”
Review
"Like a trip to the carwash, where the dust of antagonistic feminist doctrine about sex and marriage gets blasted off the windshield so they can see clearly."
Synopsis
You’re single and you know what you want in your life. And if your dreams include getting married and having children, this fresh new approach to finding the right one at the right time shows the way to make those dreams a reality.
A graduate of one of the first classes of women at Princeton University, Susan Patton has heard smart young women admit they aspire to marriage and motherhood but have no model for pursuing those goals; reflecting on the choices she made in her early twenties, she’s boldly turned the tables on our “career first” conditioning and suggests that you seek out the golden opportunities right in front of you, right now.
In Marry Smart, she shares the wisdom of her experience with warmth, humor, and very straight talk. But this is not your mother’s dating guide— Marry Smart celebrates the vital achievements of traditional marriage and motherhood, and gives you the essential life strategies that no one’s talking about, including how to:
• strike while the greatest number of single young men is available to you
• attract a man who is your intellectual and emotional equal
• date to find a mate—and how to spot a diamond in the rough
• find total satisfaction in your roles as a wife and mother
Whether or not you are in college, whether your future plans are clear or still undecided, Marry Smart is a must-read for all young women who want to get the most out of love and life.
About the Author
Susan Patton is a first-generation American and was in one of the first classes of women to graduate from Princeton in 1977. She is a first-time author, a human resources consultant, and an executive coach in New York City. She is the proud mother of two Princeton sons, a daughter-in-law who also graduated from Princeton, and a long-haired red dachshund named Lucille.