Synopses & Reviews
"I know there’s one person that I’m spending the rest of my life with, and that would be me."
–Peggy
For single women, that understanding may be a hard truth or a liberating revelation; for every woman you will meet in this book, it is the beginning of a story.
Forget Bridget Jones and Sex and the City – the lives of real single women are far more complex, more risky, more astonishing, and potentially more fulfilling than any fictional fantasy. Marian Botsford Fraser invited single women to reveal their experiences, their obsessions, and their secrets. The result is a work that blends memoir with cultural history and chronicles a social revolution in an intimate voice.
There are more than 4 million single women in Canada, and most Canadian women will be single for most of their lives. Botsford Fraser interviewed scores of women in every state of singlehood, from all parts of the country and every social stratum. She uncovered wildly divergent paths but also deep connections. The pitied figure of the spinster in Western culture, Canada’s particular brand of maternal feminism, six decades of ideal womanhood as dictated by Chatelaine all have conspired to isolate the unattached woman and all are being swept away. Herself single after a 20-year marriage, Botsford Fraser found answers to familiar dilemmas about sex and celibacy, money and financial insecurity, illness and old age, and the quest for a meaningful life of one’s own.
She discovered validation, inspiration, and transformation in the true stories of women who are redefining the meaning of family, community, and the new "single woman."
Review
"Frank, fascinating, and amusing...only a non-judgmental yet sympathetic interviewer could have elicited such candour and detail from her subjects." Quill & Quire
Review
"An engaging book on the timeliest of subjects... Fraser's journey through their world is a step toward giving [single women] the recognition and validation they must have." Globe and Mail
Review
"Heartbreakingly intimate... a glimpse into the complex lives of single women in a culture that still pretty much renders them invisible." Vancouver Sun
About the Author
Marian Botsford Fraser is a Toronto-based freelance writer, broadcaster, and critic whose work has appeared in the Globe and Mail, Toronto Life, and Elm Street. She is a long-time contributor to CBC Radio’s Ideas program and has served as guest host for various CBC Radio programs. Her previous book, Walking the Line: Travels Along the CanadianAmerican Border (1989), was described by one reviewer as “stunning … a work of wonder, warmth, and wisdom.” She lives in Toronto.