Front cover image for Flying solo : single women in midlife

Flying solo : single women in midlife

"Unmarried at 40 - could there be anything worse? Our culture dictates that this woman is on her way down, a shrew or a lonely old maid, unattractive to men, a failure at catching or holding the golden ring of marriage. Yet, when psychologists Carol Anderson and Susan Stewart interviewed single women throughout the country - never married, divorced, with or without children - they discovered something different. Having confronted the old myths, these women are making choices, enjoying their own power, thriving on solitude and friendships. Their stories offer blueprints for living, as well as inspiration, for other women "flying solo."" "Most of these women did not intend to be on their own at midlife. They had accepted the "marriage and motherhood mandate" as their destiny - until Prince Charming failed to appear or the sacrifices of marriage turned out to be too great. While giving up the dream has not been easy, at midlife they have not only reached some resolution but are also busily creating purpose in their own lives. The authors share these women's stories and their practical advice on managing the mechanics of being single, transforming loneliness, redefining the importance of work, developing friendship and support networks, living with and without intimacy and sex with men, and choosing to have and raise children. In the process they define not just a new American lifestyle but a new American Dream."--Jacket
Print Book, English, ©1994
W.W. Norton, New York, ©1994
309 pages ; 24 cm
9780393036367, 9780393313475, 0393036367, 0393313476
30355099
Sect. 1. Taking Off: The Dilemma of Automatic Pilot and Excess Baggage. Ch. 1. The Unexpected Joys of Flying Solo. Ch. 2. "Fish Got to Swim and Birds Got to Fly" Ch. 3. The Marriage and Motherhood Mandate. Ch. 4. The Mandate Goes Underground
Sect. 2. Journeys without a Map. Ch. 5. Giving Up the Dream. Ch. 6. No More Waiting for the Prince: Tales of the Never Married. Ch. 7. Broken Dreams: Women Pushed into Lives on Their Own. Ch. 8. Leaving Normal: Women Who Have Chosen to Leave Their Marriages
Sect. 3. Midlife: Charting a New Course. Ch. 9. Midlife's Gifts to Single Women. Ch. 10. Accidental Careers: Circuitous Paths, Recovered Dreams, and Midcourse Corrections. Ch. 11. Turbulence and Tailwinds: The Challenges of Flying Solo at Work. Ch. 12. A Good Ground Crew: Intimacy, Friendship, and Community in the Lives of Single Women
Sect. 4. The Problem of Men. Ch. 13. Men: The Icing, Not the Cake. Ch. 14. Having Their Cake and Eating It Too: Encapsulated Intimacies. Sect. 5. The Question of Children. Ch. 15. Defying the Mandate: Living without Motherhood. Ch. 16. Courageous Choices: Single Mothers by Choice. Ch. 17. Flying Not Quite Solo
Sect. 6. Challenges and Triumphs of Flying Solo. Ch. 18. Grit and the Art of Airplane Maintenance: Managing the Mechanics of Flying Solo. Ch. 19. One at a Table for Two: The Personal Challenges of Flying Solo. Ch. 20. Flying on the Wings of Change