The Panic Years: A Guide to Surviving Smug Married Friends, Bad Taffeta, and Life on the Wrong Side of 25 without a Ring (Hardcover)

by Doree Lewak (Author)
Key Phrases: The Panic Years, Warning Sign, Year of the Dog (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Reading lines like Sure, most couples are ill suited and unhappy, but so the hell what? At least they're married! it will be tough for enlightened readers of Newsday trend reporter Lewak's handbook not to go on the defensive. Lewak, self-described Potential Fiancé predator, tries to convince women over 25 that if they're not feeling alarmed about their unmarried state, they're living in la-la land. Still, the voice throughout is so breezy and fun that readers will cross their fingers that Lewak is kidding. And it seems that she is. She eventually puts aside all the usual and necessary jokes about smug married friends and hideous bridal wear, her final lesson apparently that you shouldn't lose yourself in that quest for a fairy tale ending. After chapters on mind games and subterfuge that will help women in their quest for the ring, the book develops a cautionary attitude, warning readers against settling for whatever comes along in their desperation, and asserting that one can be happy as a single, swingin' lady. This is fortunate, because it's hard to hate a book that provides so many laughs. (Mar. 18)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review
“The Panic Years brings cheeky humor, style, and insights to a sharp new set of ‘rules’ for single women. I loved it.”
—Dave Singleton, relationship columnist for MSN and Match.com, and author of Behind Every Woman There’s a Fabulous Gay Man


From the Hardcover edition. --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Broadway (March 18, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0767925998
• ISBN-13: 978-0767925990
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #351,031 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic book, I needed it three years ago, June 15, 2008

By	Edie "Dirty Harriet" (Georgia) - See all my reviews

Although it took my a few days..I read this book all the way through and thought, this is "the" book for single women. I know how I felt, exactly as the author describes, right at 27 and realizing I wasn't meeting men "automatically" anymore and that the number of women my age sporting rings and showing pregnancy bumps was getting higher. Also the strategies Ms Lewak includes in the book for Closing the Deal were great. The chapters are so spot-on about our lives it's not funny.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Witty but disappointing with a misleading title, September 19, 2008

By	Sunshine Angel (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews

I really was hoping this would be more a book about celebrating being single despite the fact that your friends are all getting married. Instead, I felt like the title of this book should've been Man-Trap. This is nothing about 'surviving' being single, it's about how to join the marriage club using every trick in the book. I HATE giving books a bad review, and I rarely ever do but I was extremely disappointed. It basically tells women to stop being so picky, which to some extent I can understand but then the entire second half of the book is about getting your boyfriend to propose with tactics...maybe I'm naive, but really? You have to use tactics? What kind of guy are you marrying then anyway? The only reason I gave this book two stars is because I think the author is a good writer, very funny, and witty but everything she wrote about is exactly what I don't want to hear. I don't want to stop being so picky, I want to celebrate the fact that I'm strong enough to have high standards and enjoy my independence and if a man fits into that picture then that's great, but if not, that's okay too. I thought this book would be more empowering and basically tell me it's okay to be single even though it feels horrible as everyone around you is getting married but it actually only made me more depressed that this is what dating and marriage has come to. If this is the type of book you're looking for, one that tells you how to snag a guy and get him to propose, then maybe you'll enjoy this book, although if that's the case, I think you're better off reading "The Rules."

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Buy this Book and Read it All the Way Through, April 4, 2008

By	Literary Lass (NYC, NY) - See all my reviews

I love the Author's wit, and her unmatched ability to crack up a humorous anecdote at pretty much every "panic" topic presented in this book. Yet Lewak's comic no-nonsense attitude surpasses the (very!) entertaining jokes, forming itself as your friendly vehicle that soberly communicates a serious message.
Despite the fact that a growing number of women today wake up from their sweet dreams to a reality that will not have them married by 25, many of these young ladies do in fact lapse into a socio-romantic state of panic, unable to see themselves and the world beyond their imaginary ring-like finish line. "The Panic Years" invites you to look at yourself and your aspirations beyond that - and beyond the superficial, materialistic aspirations all too prevalent at certain dating circles - so as to realize what's truly worth panicking about.