Because of the prominent mention of people who are single-at-heart in the New York Times, I have been getting more inquiries than usual about what it means to be single-at-heart. Research on the concept is just beginning. Below are links to what I have written so far, and what I have learned from the first 1,200 people who took the single-at-heart survey.
Solo dwellers, we have our book! Eric Klinenberg’s book, Going Solo: The Extraordinary Rise and Surprising Appeal of Living Alone, will be published tomorrow. My advanced copy is already dog-eared. At Living Single, I explained why I think this book will become a social science classic, read by students, scholars, and smart readers everywhere for years to come. At my Single at Heart blog, I shared 12 of the surprising facts you can learn about living alone from Going Solo.
When Singled Out was first published, I had a fantasy. I guess you could call it small-time, but had it ever happened, I would have been thrilled. I always wanted to walk onto an airplane and see someone reading my book.
[Bella’s intro: In my last post, I gave a name to the series that has actually been ongoing for some time: Perspectives on Single Life. The first entry posted specifically under that name is from Maya Bernadett. She takes on the pressure to just settle, a topic that, unfortunately, continues to be timely. There are a number of lines from this essay that I especially appreciate, but I think my favorite is the very last one. No cheating – don’t skip ahead to the end! Thanks, Maya, for sharing your essay with the readers of “All Things Single (and More).”]
“Instead of feeling down on yourself the next time Grandma asks you when you are going to meet a nice boy and give her grandkids, focus on why it’s sweet to be single over the holidays.”
On Monday October 17 at 2 pm, I’m giving a talk on singles at Loyola University in Chicago. It is open to the public. Here are the details.
A reader who is single and not looking to become unsingle asked me a simple question that, to me, does not seem to have a simple answer: Where can he go for social support?
Today on the Today show website, there is a story, “Single and seriously ill: Care circles fill in for family.” There you can read about “Lucy’s Angels,” the 49 friends who helped Lucy Whitworth when she was diagnosed with cancer. The author, Rita Rubin, also points readers to a book called Share the Care about organizing care circles, and a website, lotsahelpinghands.com, for arranging the scheduling.
[Bella’s intro: Tricia Hoffman first got in touch with me in 2006 soon after Singled Out was published. I am happy to say that we have stayed in contact, even if just sporadically, ever since. She told me she was joyfully single in 2006, and remains so now, five years later. You can read more about her life at today’s guest post at Living Single. Tricia is also very creative. When she sent me her poem about same-self marriage, I asked if I could post it here and she graciously agreed. Thank-you, Tricia!]
A reporter is looking for singles who are part of a strong singles community or a community where the adults are overwhelmingly unmarried, in the U.S. or Canada. If you qualify and want to talk to the reporter, or if you know of such communities, email me at BellaDePaulo [at] gmail.com and I’ll forward your information.
