Single Again: A Guide for Women Starting over [Hardcover]

Victoria Jaycox (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 1999

Each year millions of women are widowed or divorced. This manual shows readers how to: handle grief and stress while still moving ahead; get a job and the right kind of housing; find solace and community in religion, friends, a support group or therapy; figure out what kind of future they want and how to get there; enjoy courtship and sex, nineties-style, and decide whether or not to remarry. The book gathers together the pragmatic and collective wisdom of both experts and those who have lived through this life-altering experience.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"Self-transformation after the death or divorce of a husband isn't an extraordinary event that happens only to special women," writes Victoria Jaycox in Single Again: A Guide for Women Starting Over. "There are simple, practical ways to make it happen." Cox interviewed 88 divorced and widowed women who had succeeded in making gratifying new lives for themselves, and she also sought the wisdom of professionals. The result is a guidebook for getting through the devastation of the loss of a husband, making order out of chaos, adapting, carving out an independent identify, and creating a new life. The style is personal and compassionate, with many snippets of other women's experiences, so the reader feels less alone in her grief and the obstacles she faces.

No one formula works for every divorced or widowed woman, any more than any two relationships are identical. The women who succeeded among Jaycox's interview sources, however, had "grit and bravery" in common, and reading about what worked for them is comforting, inspiring, and useful. Jaycox covers topics as emotional as grief, depression, and a search for self, and as practical as lawyers, managing money, and career planning. The book is full of helpful advice and resources. --Joan Price

From Library Journal

Jaycox's book, although dull reading, is full of practical tips for women who find themselves single after many years of marriage. The book is a combination of tips from Jaycox (not single, but separated and then reunited); interviews with women who were married at least ten years with at least two years of singlehood afterward, both widowed and divorced; and the collected wisdom of professionals in mental health. The chapters tell the story: "facing the chasm," "coping with stress," "dealing with lawyers," "financial expertise," "getting a job," and so on. This book should have a sizable audience among the many women who find themselves in this situation. Recommended for public libraries.ABarbara O'Hara, Free Lib. of Philadelphia
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: W W Norton & Co Inc (March 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393046990
• ISBN-13: 978-0393046991
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,188,367 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars Not helpful, June 15, 2009

By 

Opal (Newington, CT USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Single Again: A Guide for Women Starting over (Hardcover)

Maybe it's because my divorce is still fresh, but this book did not help me, & I didn't even finish it it bummed me out so much. My advice? Find a different book (it's outdated also).

5.0 out of 5 stars This book saved my life, November 6, 2007

By 

Meredith Ewing - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Single Again: A Guide for Women Starting over (Hardcover)

I know saying it saved my life sounds dramatic, but for those of us who have been "single again" we know that we need all the help we can get! And this book is the tops. All the things you go through when your husband or partner leaves you is so overwhelming and the stories of the women who experienced the same things within this book just helped me see that I really wasnt alone. That somehow I would heal, and become whole again, at a time when I wasnt sure if I ever would be....also I would go back and read certain passages I had marked when I re-experienced certain emotions or problems just for comfort. It was like my "breakup bible" and it got me through a really terrible and lonely time. Get it! Its a gem. And it applies to women of any age, too.

5.0 out of 5 stars An invaluable guide for women who are starting over., March 31, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Single Again: A Guide for Women Starting over (Hardcover)

I wish I had this book 2 years ago, when I unexpecedly became a widow at age 46. The information in this book could have saved me much of the anxiety that I experienced in not knowing how, or from whom to get the direction that I needed. I was amazed to see how thorough Victoria Jaycox was. Her book deals with many, if not all of the same issues of starting over, that I was faced with. From grieving, supporting myself, moving, attaining legal and financial help,even up to starting a new relationship, Victoria covers it all. The commentary of the women who contributed their stories reinforces the message that we can get through this difficult time in our lives, and in many instances, emerge with new strength, and the courage to create happy fulfilling new futures for ourselves. Thank you Victoria!