On My Own: The Art of Being a Woman Alone
After two divorces and more than two decades as a psychoanalyst, Falk  is an expert on the concept of being a woman alone—a term she prefers because  "as a distinct category within women's culture, it formally elevates our  presence and status, helps us to achieve visibility and expression, and allows  us to redress our marginalized state." Hyperbole aside, there's no denying that  to embrace being a woman alone isn't easy in a society where "bachelors are  always eligible," while " 'spinsters,' almost by definition, are ready for the  dumpster." But as Falk makes clear in this useful and appealing manual, it's  inaccurate, unfair and unhealthy to equate being alone with being unwanted or a  failure. Some may cringe at her flowery language, but she offers plenty of  evidence for her central thesis that "aloneness is an opportunity, a state  brimming with potentiality, with resources for renewed life." Drawing from her  own experiences, those of her patients, and examples from such writers as  Marion Milner and cultural figures like Kitty Carlisle Hart, Falk offers plenty  of material to help even women with partners to understand the distinction  between being abandoned and choosing to be alone, and to appreciate the healing  and nurturing benefits of solitude.(Mar.)Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.