Getting Married After 40: Advice & Inspiration from 100 Women Who Found Good Men & Happy Marriages [Paperback]

Carmen Anthony (Author), Anthony (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1999

Many single women believe that a woman's chances of getting married are next to nothing once they've reached age 40. The media loves to play on their fears, with stories comparing the odds to being struck by lightning, or kidnapped by terrorists. Yet each year some 275,000 American women age 40 or older marry or remarry.

In Getting Married After 40, 100 women who have beaten the odds share their stories of how they managed to meet men, overcame their fears and hang-ups, survived the first dates, handled potential step-kids, and other crucial dating and mating issues.

These women, all savvy, self-confident, and articulate, don't pretend, that it isn't difficult to adjust to life with a man after years of being on their own. But the rewards, they insist, are well worth it for any woman willing to take the plunge. In Getting Married After 40, they reveal the pleasures -- as well as the pitfalls -- and offer practical, step-by-step advice and encouragement to other women who want to find a good man to love.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Anthony, a UPI reporter, was herself married for the second time after 40. She bases this quick-reading, feel-good collection of vignettes on questionnaires she sent to 100 women, all of whom married after 40 and sometimes much later, most often for the second or third time. She then followed up the questionnaire with personal interviews. We've read much of this advice before; what takes this book beyond the women's magazine columns is Anthony's questions. The answers reveal hard-earned wisdom on what to avoid and how to cope. The ten chapters cover getting back into circulation, first dates, children (his, yours, and maybe ours), the first year, finances, trying not to get cold feet, and making it last. The advice is grouped by subject, and the interviewed women speak in the first person; there is no psychological commentary and no analysis of what a woman did or should have done differently. Women will buy this book for their single friends and relatives. For public libraries.ASusan E. Burdick, MLS, Reading, PA
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Carmen Anthony is an experienced reporter and interviewer-working for UPI in Los Angeles, Denver, and Spain-who was once herself married after age 40. She has also worked as a movie publicist, magazine editor, and public relations account executive. Her travel writing has appeared in The Los Angeles Times, the Philadelphia Inquirer, and San Jose Mercury News. She is currently editor of several Fodor's guides to travel in Europe.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Adams Media Corporation; 1st edition (April 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580621155
• ISBN-13: 978-1580621151
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,359,094 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Glad Someone Thought Of This, April 11, 2000

By 

"c-m-a" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Getting Married After 40: Advice & Inspiration from 100 Women Who Found Good Men & Happy Marriages (Paperback)

This survey of 100 women marrying after 40 highlights the perspectives of this particular age group on common marriage and relationship issues. Among the best features was the assurance given by the author and women surveyed that 40-plus women interested in marriage have the opportunity and can certainly afford to be choosy. Most interesting to me was that almost all of the women who married for the first time or after being single for a long time experienced some anxiety about sharing space and diminished independence. It was heartening to know that this concern, which I share in the abstract, is common and can be dealt with.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Review by Newsday, April 13, 1999, April 13, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Getting Married After 40: Advice & Inspiration from 100 Women Who Found Good Men & Happy Marriages (Paperback)

Ever since a 1986 Newsweek article claimed that 40-year-old women have a better chance of being kidnapped by terrorists than finding a husband, many women in their 40s figures that they were fated for singlehood. If you're one of them, this book is here to tell you that's not so.

Rather than writing another "how to get your man" book, author Carmen Anthony put a different twist on that much maligned objec tive by offering some solid advice on the challenges one can fac e4 when marrying later in life.

She starts off with pep talks, telling single women to "get a live and then invite a man into it." And, because it's a vital step in the mating process, there's a chapter on where to find the buys, and quick reviews of the pros and cons of dating services, personals, the bar scene and other st6rategies for meeting men. But she also discusses the importance of being ready to marry, and offers ways to overcome the fears that prevent some women from taking the plunge.

Anthony, who married after the age of 40, doesn t do all the talking. She interv iewed 100 women who ranged in age fro m 40 to 73 when they married. They come from all walks of live and use their own personal stories to aqddress everything from coping with well-intentioned relatives to the b est ways to deal with finances and pre-nuptial agreements and how to successfully fold his and y our children into the picture.

And rather than leaving her readers at the altar, Anthony offers encouragement on the most important aspect of all: the first year of marriage. The women she interviewed struggled with admustment too, and their stories tell those who have been on their own what they can expect when they join their lives with another. Since they've been there, they know that carv ing out personal space, learning to live with, for example, different perceptions of c leanliness, and the age-old problem of communication between the sexes are just some of the road blocks newlyweds of all ages will encopunter.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A truly honest portrayal of mature relationships!, April 16, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Getting Married After 40: Advice & Inspiration from 100 Women Who Found Good Men & Happy Marriages (Paperback)

I purchased this book because one of my friends is depicted in the "Marriage 100" then found myself really drawn to the other women's stories as well. This book is a rare find because of its first-hand, honest portrayal of truly mature relationships! These are women like myself who have "been there, done that" and learned a lot along the way. I found myself wishing that I could sit arouund in a big circle with some of these women, just talking and sharing our ideas about men, relationships, and what makes our lives fulfilling. The next best thing to doing that is reading this book and identifying with so many of the stories therein. I like Carmen Anthony's style, because she truly lets these women's voices be heard. It's a great blend of good reporting and upbeat, worthwhile advice on finding the right kind of man to marry. I have already given this book as gifts to two of my friends and plan to gift it to a few others when their birthdays roll around.