Author: Ganahl, Jane

In Single Woman of a Certain Age, Jane Ganahl assembles a chorus of sophisticated, edgy, and humorous voices who tackle the topic of being unmarried and in one's prime. Reflecting on the (mostly) ups and (sometimes) downs of women cruising past forty, these writers address the challenges and rewards of growing older as a single woman: sex, loneliness, motherhood, learning to live alone (and happily), financial struggles or blossoming careers, menopause, and more. Joyce Maynard and Dakota Cassidy try online hookups, Debra Ginsberg brings up the M-word, Cameron Tuttle goes on a date (with herself), Susan Griffin finds joy in solitude, and Rachel Toor finally finds companionship - the four-legged kind. With humour and emotional honesty, these essays show how women learn to come into their own, bucking the realities of how society treats the older female who's alone. Swinging between desperation and optimism, bad moods and good grace, these 29 essays range from the mild to the wild, the glamorous to the mundane, each expressing the gifts and travails of going solo. Readers will come away with that reassuring sense that they are not alone, and with fresh insights as to how to tackle their own issues of flying solo at midlife - the good, the bad and the ugly.