Making a life of ones own by kate bolick, a team from penguin random house and the comedienne bonnie mcfarlane took to the streets to ask people what the word spinster means to them. So begins spinster, a revelatory and slyly erudite look at the pleasures and possibilities of remaining single. This is the opening line of kate bolick s book spinster. In the first 100 pages of spinster, kate bolick writes, ive always known that a book will find you when you need to be found and she couldnt be more right.
Kate bolick is a spinster and not afraid to admit it. Making a life of ones own, where she makes the case that staying unmarried doesnt mean being. Kate bolick s spinster and robin rinaldis the wild oats project suggest that a reconsideration of marriage and coupling may constitute the next cultural frontier. Janet malcolm, author of the journalist and the murderer spinster is a triumph, a provocative and moving exploration of what it means for a woman to chart her own course. Why having an affair was the best mistake kate bolick ever. O magazine in spinster, a sharpwitted paean to the single life, kate bolick explains why she has consciously opted out of coupling. Crown publishing there was a time when being a spinster an unmarried woman of a. Feb 12, 2018 spinster author kate bolick found inspiration to live life on her own terms from 5 famous female authors. If you are looking for a book about female empowerment, becoming your own knight in shining armor, or exploring how marriage defines us as women, this is the read for you. Kate bolick posed this question in her 2011 cover story for the atlantic. Tapping into this ambivalence about marriage, 40something kate bolick has written a provocatively titled new book, spinster, about the pleasures and pains of the single life. A bold, original, moving book that will inspire fanatical devotion and ignite debate.
At 28, kate bolick was a serial monogamist who couldnt tell a lie. One hundred and twentythree years later, kate bolick s new book, spinster. Then came an affair that set her on a completely different path. Spinster author kate bolick found inspiration to live life on her. In her 2015 book, spinster, making a life of ones own, kate bolick has written, to me, the spinster is selfreliant and inscrutable. With a record number of american women now unmarried more than 50 percent kate bolick offers a fresh look at going solo in spinster. At one point, she thought marriage would be part of her future. Whom to marry, and when will it happenthese two questions. Just as her awakeners all marry, we find her at her books close with an even more than usually wonderful boyfriend, s, a man who has an. Aug 02, 2015 i cant recall the last time a first book came with such lavish advance praise as kate bolicks spinster and from such big names, too.
Spinster author kate bolick on her new book, the false divide. As a 40something confirmed spinster, im a member of your target audience. Crown publishing there was a time when being a spinster an unmarried woman of a certain age was a real social. And with that begins kate bolick s highly informative, compelling, and entertaining defense against the dominating cultural viewpoint against single women a. All the single ladies arent so privileged the nation. Kate bolick doesnt quite say so in her new memoir, spinster. Kate bolicks new book surveys the past, present, and. Kate bolick wiki, married, marriage, husband, measurements. Bolick describes the lives of five women who she defines as awakeners in her own path to define her role as a woman.
In spinster, her new book on the single life, kate bolick, possessed of all three, instead describes unmarried existence as one of long conversations, hard. In spinster, kate bolick weaves together her story of being single with the lives of the five awakeners that lead her to that life. What if a girl grew up like a boy, with marriage an abstract, someday thought, a thing to think about when she became an adult, a thing she could do, or not do, depending. Apr 23, 2015 in 2011, kate bolick wrote a cover story for the atlantic called all the single ladies. Spinster author kate bolick found inspiration to live life. Louisa may alcott, a spinster hero for single women of all.
Kate bolick has writenn her first book, the non fiction, spinster. Apr 16, 2015 kate bolicks spinster and robin rinaldis the wild oats project suggest that a reconsideration of marriage and coupling may constitute the next cultural frontier. Using her own experiences as a starting point, journalist and cultural critic kate bolick invites us into her carefully considered. Kate bolick s new book surveys the past, present, and future of the unmarried woman and, in the process, determines that spinsters should no longer be sad. Bolicks intimate exploration of spinsterhood celebrates the courage of defining for oneself what it means to be happy. Kate bolicks new book surveys the past, present, and future.
Making a life of ones own, where bolick uses her personal experiences to explore why she, and more than 100 million. In her 2015 memoir spinster, bolick identifies five women writers who. Apr 19, 2016 in spinster, her wise and subtle memoir, kate bolick explores that freighted termand the oftenmaligned woman to whom it is attachedand deftly, persuasively reclaims it. Two new books confront the legacy of the 1970s womens. I expected to like kate bolicks recent book spinster.
These dual contingencies govern her until theyre answered, even if the. Like many engrossing books, spinster is first and foremost a. Is marriage only for the insecure or the deficient. Kate bolick, author of spinster writer kate bolick says that, growing up, she just assumed shed get married some day but it hasnt happened. Ive had friends who consider themselves plain tell me they seized the first husband they could get, she writes. In 2011, kate bolick wrote a cover story for the atlantic called all the single ladies. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. The momentum for the moment has many sources, but probably the most powerful among them is the publication of kate bolick s new book, spinster. Bolick s intimate exploration of spinsterhood celebrates the courage of defining for oneself what it means to be happy.
In conversation with scott stossel, bolick discussed her new book. Making a life of ones own, in which we learn that being single is preferable, and solitude a balm for the soul at least bolicks, something. Malcolm gladwell, author of david and goliath kate bolick s spinster will take your breath away. Apr 28, 2015 in spinster, her new book on the single life, kate bolick, possessed of all three, instead describes unmarried existence as one of long conversations, hard work, electric trysts, awkward dates and. Making a life of ones own by kate bolick, paperback. Making a life of ones own is one part autobiography and one part history lesson. So begins genx journalist kate bolick s recent book spinster. Spinster is a nonfiction examination of what it means to choose the nontraditional path of staying single or electing to divorce.
Seriously single kate bolick challenges the spinster stereotype as well as the boundaries of firstperson narratives. Like many engrossing books, spinster is first and foremost a product of the authors longterm obsession. Spinster author kate bolick on her new book, the false. In a memoir, spinster, she traces the problem to its origins. Kate bolick is the creator of new york times best seller spinster. May 14, 2015 kate bolicks new book surveys the past, present, and future of the unmarried woman and, in the process, determines that spinsters should no longer be sad. What do you imagine men, or married women, learning from your book. Making a life of ones own kindle edition by bolick, kate. Spinster author kate bolick found inspiration to live. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading spinster. Apr 30, 2015 one hundred and twentythree years later, kate bolicks new book, spinster. I ordered this book because i enjoyed the atlantic article by kate bolick and now that it seems that all of my friends are getting married, i was. Writing with a bold vision and in incandescent prose, bolick gives us a.
Author interview kate bolick, author of spinster bookpage. Apr 19, 2016 bolick s intimate exploration of spinsterhood celebrates the courage of defining for oneself what it means to be happy. I cant recall the last time a first book came with such lavish advance praise as kate bolick s spinster and from. Making a life of ones own by kate bolick goodreads. All of us spend at least part of our lives alone, possibly more so now than ever before, between.
Susan cain, cofounder of quiet revolution and bestselling author of quiet. Charlotte perkins gilman got married, had a child, left her husband and her child and lived alone for 10. That is, at least, what kate bolick argues in spinster, a novel that explores the idea of marriage and the pleasures and possibilities that come with staying single. But these seminal spinsters of bolicks were all married at one time or another, some of them even happily another book might even use them to. The writer kate claimed that a very minimal profile seeing his lifespan.
Spinster is the book you need to read to inspire your next move. And i found as i read this book, i keep having moments of recognizing myself in the pages. Kate bolick is a fortytwoyearold journalist who, since childhood, has harbored a fantasy of living alone and becoming what she calls a real writer, but, like many women of her generation, she has found it nearly impossible to pursue that dream. Making a life of ones own, a new book by kate bolick, arent set in bold, but may as well be.
Spinster author kate bolick found inspiration to live life on her own terms from 5 famous female authors. By the end of her book, bolick has yet another devoted boyfriend but still sounds a little. In spinster, kate bolick explores making a life of her own. Seriously though, kate bolick has written an insightful. Why theres absolutely nothing wrong with being a single woman. Charlotte perkins gilman got married, had a child, left her husband and.
In parts, the book exemplifies the virtues of the lifestyle bolick extols, and yet it ultimately gets cold feet and ends with a retreat into the comfort of the false dichotomy between marriage and singlehood. Kate bolicks new book, spinster, frolicks in singlehood. Kate bolick posed this question in her 2011 cover story for. Now in her 40s, bolick has become an unofficial spokeswoman for nevermarried modern women living that wish. May 07, 2015 kate bolick has writenn her first book, the non fiction, spinster. I was looking forward to reading spinster long before i had a copy in my hands. Newsday in spinster, a sharpwitted paean to the single life, kate bolick explains why she has consciously opted out of coupling. Because i understand all about women choosing not to marry. Whom to marry, and when will it happenthese two questions define.
Until my mid30s, when people asked why i wasnt married, i. Aug 15, 20 according to the dish, kate bolick is a contributing editor for the atlantic and writes regularly for elle, the new york times, the wall street journal, and slate. Spinster and the wild oats project chicago tribune. Jan 31, 2017 and with that begins kate bolicks highly informative, compelling, and entertaining defense against the dominating cultural viewpoint against single women a. Apr 21, 2015 kate bolick is a spinster and not afraid to admit it. In spinster, kate bolick explores the women who bypass marriage for a single life however, it rings hollow for those who arent white and economically secure.
Apr 06, 2015 at 28, kate bolick was a serial monogamist who couldnt tell a lie. Spinster quotes by kate bolick goodreads share book. Building a living of the personal of just a single particular. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. In telling the stories of her literary awakenersfive vividlyconjured women who escaped the conventional ties of marriage and familyand in elegantly weaving cultural history into her own personal progress to maturity, bolick shows by argument and example that the single life is not a predicament to be. Whom to marry, and when will it happenthese two questions define every. Kate bolick enjoys living single and so did the five writers whose stories she tells. Kate bolick challenges the spinster stereotype as well as the boundaries of firstperson narratives.
Writing with a bold vision and in incandescent prose, bolick gives us a users guide to going solo and a gorgeous work of cultural criticism. In spinster, her new book on the single life, kate bolick, possessed of all three, instead describes unmarried existence as one of long conversations, hard work, electric trysts, awkward dates and. Making a life of ones own, in which she explores her decision to remain unmarried to the dismay of her many suitors. Apr 21, 2015 the cover of kate bolicks new book, spinster.
Making a life of ones own, in which we learn that being single is preferable, and solitude a balm for the soul at least bolick s, something. At 40, happy, successful and surrounded by friends, her existence, she insists, is nevertheless governed by. A childless single woman of a certain age is no longer automatically perceived as a barren spinster. Im in my 30s and havent married yet, but marriage is not in my own top five. In telling the stories of her literary awakenersfive vividlyconjured women who escaped the conventional ties of marriage and familyand in elegantly. We think we know what the wife is up to and what the mother is up to but the single woman is mysterious. In spinster, her wise and subtle memoir, kate bolick explores that freighted termand the oftenmaligned woman to whom it is attachedand deftly, persuasively reclaims it.