In My TBR Stack:

The New Old Maid: Satisfied Single Women
by Maureen Paraventi
Chatter House Press
Trade Paperback

From the publisher's website:

Maureen Paraventi tells the stories of single women with unflinching honesty and wry self-awareness in The New Old Maid. These stories strike a chord with any woman striving for independence. The women in the book share the paths they took to overcome barriers and frustrations along with the exhilaration that comes with independence. In addition to sharing the stories of real-life women, The New Old Maid takes a look at how depictions of fictional old maids in books, movies, stage plays and TV shows have evolved over time -- and explains why such portrayals matter.


From the author's website:

The New Old Maid sheds light on what it’s like to be a single woman in a society that relentlessly promotes marriage as the normal and desirable way for adults to live. It reveals a little known truth: that many unmarried women enjoy being single and revel in the freedom and autonomy that go hand-in-hand with not going hand-in-hand with a spouse.

There are some drawbacks to being unmarried, of course, and the women who are featured in the book hold nothing back as they discuss careers, sex, freedom, ambition, relationship disappointments, romance, loneliness, accomplishments, children, concerns about aging, financial security, friendships and more. Ranging in age from 42 to 70, they include a corporate VP, ski instructor, fashion designer, high school principal, non-profit manager, stockbroker, psychic medium, public relations professional, entrepreneur, beauty pageant winner, nurse, and retired firefighter. Despite their differences, these women all have two things in common: they prefer being single over “settling” for a marriage that would be unsatisfying to them, and they’re tired of being treated like an oddity.

These “new old maids” share share unforgettable, extraordinarily personal stories as well as refreshing insights.

Single, divorced, and widowed women who are learning to navigate the challenges of flying solo can learn a lot from the lively, funny and opinionated women they’ll meet in the pages of The New Old Maid. Married women who’d like to recalibrate their relationships or who are curious about what the road not taken might have looked like for them will also enjoy it.

The New Old Maid is all about living life to the fullest, whether you’re part of a couple or not.