Spinster : Making a Life of One's Own by Kate Bolick download ebook PDF, DJV, DOC
9780385347136 English 0385347138 "Whom to marry, and when will it happen--these two questions define every woman's existence." So begins Spinster , a revelatory and slyly erudite look at the pleasures and possibilities of remaining single. Using her own experiences as a starting point, journalist and cultural critic Kate Bolick invites us into her carefully considered, passionately lived life, weaving together the past and present to examine why颅 she--along with over 100 million American women, whose ranks keep growing--remains unmarried. This unprecedented demographic shift, Bolick explains, is the logical outcome of hundreds of years of change that has neither been fully understood, nor appreciated. Spinster introduces a cast of pioneering women from the last century whose genius, tenacity, and flair for drama have emboldened Bolick to fashion her life on her own terms: columnist Neith Boyce, essayist Maeve Brennan, social visionary Charlotte Perkins Gilman, poet Edna St. Vincent Millay, and novelist Edith Wharton. By animating their unconventional ideas and choices, Bolick shows us that contemporary debates about settling down, and having it all, are timeless--the crucible upon which all thoughtful women have tried for centuries to forge a good life. Intellectually substantial and deeply personal, Spinster is both an unreservedly inquisitive memoir and a broader cultural exploration that asks us to acknowledge the opportunities within ourselves to live authentically. Bolick offers us a way back into our own lives--a chance to see those splendid years when we were young and unencumbered, or middle-aged and finally left to our own devices, for what they really are: unbounded and our own to savor., A New York Times Book Review Notable Book "Whom to marry, and when will it happen--these two questions define every woman's existence." So begins Spinster , a revelatory and slyly erudite look at the pleasures and possibilities of remaining single. Using her own experiences as a starting point, journalist and cultural critic Kate Bolick invites us into her carefully considered, passionately lived life, weaving together the past and present to examine why颅 she--along with over 100 million American women, whose ranks keep growing--remains unmarried. This unprecedented demographic shift, Bolick explains, is the logical outcome of hundreds of years of change that has neither been fully understood, nor appreciated. Spinster introduces a cast of pioneering women from the last century whose genius, tenacity, and flair for drama have emboldened Bolick to fashion her life on her own terms: columnist Neith Boyce, essayist Maeve Brennan, social visionary Charlotte Perkins Gilman, poet Edna St. Vincent Millay, and novelist Edith Wharton. By animating their unconventional ideas and choices, Bolick shows us that contemporary debates about settling down, and having it all, are timeless--the crucible upon which all thoughtful women have tried for centuries to forge a good life. Intellectually substantial and deeply personal, Spinster is both an unreservedly inquisitive memoir and a broader cultural exploration that asks us to acknowledge the opportunities within ourselves to live authentically. Bolick offers us a way back into our own lives--a chance to see those splendid years when we were young and unencumbered, or middle-aged and finally left to our own devices, for what they really are: unbounded and our own to savor., A bold, original, moving book that will inspire fanatical devotion and ignite debate. "Whom to marry, and when will it happen--these two questions define every woman's existence." So begins "Spinster," a revelatory and slyly erudite look at the pleasures and possibilities of remaining single. Using her own experiences as a starting point, journalist and cultural critic Kate Bolick invites us into her carefully considered, passionately lived life, weaving together the past and present to examine why- she--along with over 100 million American women, whose ranks keep growing--remains unmarried. This unprecedented demographic shift, Bolick explains, is the logical outcome of hundreds of years of change that has neither been fully understood, nor appreciated. "Spinster" introduces a cast of pioneering women from the last century whose genius, tenacity, and flair for drama have emboldened Bolick to fashion her life on her own terms: journalist Neith Boyce, essayist Maeve Brennan, social reformer Charlotte Perkins Gilman, poet Edna St. Vincent Millay, and novelist Edith Wharton. By animating their unconventional ideas and choices, Bolick shows us that contemporary debates about settling down, and having it all, are timeless, the crucible upon which all thoughtful women have tried for centuries to forge a good life. Intellectually substantial and deeply personal, "Spinster" is a new kind of unreservedly inquisitive work of memoir and broader cultural exploration that asks us to acknowledge the opportunities that exist within ourselves to live authentically. Bolick offers readers a way back into their own lives--a chance to see those splendid years when we were young and unencumbered, or middle-aged and finally left to our own devices, for what they really are: unbounded and our own to savor., An electric and bracingly original story that expands our understanding of what it means to choose a life alone. "Whom to marry, and when will it happen--these two questions define every woman's existence, regardless of where she was raised or what religion she does or doesn't practice." So begins "Spinster," a revelatory, lyrical, and slyly erudite look at the pleasures and possibilities of remaining single. Using her own experiences as a starting point, journalist and cultural critic Kate Bolick invites us into her carefully considered, passionately lived life, weaving together the past and present to examine why- she--along with over 100 million American women, whose ranks keep growing--remains unmarried, yet still cannot outrun those two pesky questions. This unprecedented demographic shift, Bolick explains, is the logical outcome of hundreds of years of change that has neither been fully understood, nor appreciated. "Spinster" introduces a cast of pioneering women from the last century whose genius, tenacity, and flair for drama have emboldened Bolick to fashion her life on her own terms: journalist Neith Boyce, essayist Maeve Brennan, social reformer Charlotte Perkins Gilman, poet Edna St. Vincent Millay, and novelist Edith Wharton. By animating their unconventional ideas and choices, Bolick shows us that contemporary debates about settling down, and having it all, are timeless, the crucible upon which all thoughtful women have tried for centuries to forge a good life. Intellectually substantial and deeply personal, "Spinster" is a new kind of unreservedly inquisitive work of memoir and broader cultural exploration that asks us to acknowledge the opportunities that exist within ourselves to live authentically. Bolick offers readers a way back into their own lives--a chance to see those splendid years when we were young and unencumbered, or middle-aged and finally left to our own devices, for what they really are: open, unbound, and our own to savor., The history of modern letters is dotted with blockbuster books that each offered, as if for the first time, a window into the way women live: Helen Gurley Brown's Sex and theSingle Girl, Gail Sheehy's Passages, Clarissa Pinkola Estes's Women Who Run with the Wolves, Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love. Each of these books were a kind of bible for the women of their time who were looking for the intimate space that stories provide to explore the full terrain of their lives.In the tradition of the best of these books, Kate Bolick, the writer whose Atlantic cover story "All the Single Ladies" attracted an unprecedented amount of attention, offers up a stirring and revelatory portrait of her own life as it has been guided and inspired by a series of women writers and thinkers whose unconventional lives--mostly if notexclusively lived alone--have a lot to teach us all today.We meet a tight group of exceptional women whose genius, tenacity, and flair for drama have lit the way for Kate--poet Edna St. Vincent Millay, New Yorker contributor Maeve Brennan, great novelist and interior decorator Edith Wharton, and the little known but completely fascinating novelist and playwright Neith Boyce. Each well-known in their lifetimes, the fullness and complexity of these womens' lives have been lost to history. Woven throughout it all is an utterly charming portrait of a modern woman asking timeless yet still controversial questions about the meaning of a single woman's life both to herself and to society.Kate Bolick's is a book that will both inspire debate and spawn all variety of girl crushes. It is the kind of slyly erudite, utterly frank work of memoir and broader cultural exploration that offers readers a way back into their own lives, a way of seeing those splendid years when we were young and unencumbered, or middle-agedand finally left to our own devices, for what they really are: open and free and our own to savour., Whom to marry, and when will it happen these two questions define every woman s existence. So begins "Spinster," a revelatory and slyly erudite look at the pleasures and possibilities of remaining single. Using her own experiences as a starting point, journalist and cultural critic Kate Bolick invites us into her carefully considered, passionately lived life, weaving together the past and present to examine why she along with over 100 million American women, whose ranks keep growing remains unmarried. This unprecedented demographic shift, Bolick explains, is the logical outcome of hundreds of years of change that has neither been fully understood, nor appreciated. "Spinster" introduces a cast of pioneering women from the last century whose genius, tenacity, and flair for drama have emboldened Bolick to fashion her life on her own terms: columnist Neith Boyce, essayist Maeve Brennan, social visionary Charlotte Perkins Gilman, poet Edna St. Vincent Millay, and novelist Edith Wharton. By animating their unconventional ideas and choices, Bolick shows us that contemporary debates about settling down, and having it all, are timeless the crucible upon which all thoughtful women have tried for centuries to forge a good life. Intellectually substantial and deeply personal, "Spinster" is both an unreservedly inquisitive memoir and a broader cultural exploration that asks us to acknowledge the opportunities within ourselves to live authentically. Bolick offers us a way back into our own lives a chance to see those splendid years when we were young and unencumbered, or middle-aged and finally left to our own devices, for what they really are: unbounded and our own to savor."
9780385347136 English 0385347138 "Whom to marry, and when will it happen--these two questions define every woman's existence." So begins Spinster , a revelatory and slyly erudite look at the pleasures and possibilities of remaining single. Using her own experiences as a starting point, journalist and cultural critic Kate Bolick invites us into her carefully considered, passionately lived life, weaving together the past and present to examine why颅 she--along with over 100 million American women, whose ranks keep growing--remains unmarried. This unprecedented demographic shift, Bolick explains, is the logical outcome of hundreds of years of change that has neither been fully understood, nor appreciated. Spinster introduces a cast of pioneering women from the last century whose genius, tenacity, and flair for drama have emboldened Bolick to fashion her life on her own terms: columnist Neith Boyce, essayist Maeve Brennan, social visionary Charlotte Perkins Gilman, poet Edna St. Vincent Millay, and novelist Edith Wharton. By animating their unconventional ideas and choices, Bolick shows us that contemporary debates about settling down, and having it all, are timeless--the crucible upon which all thoughtful women have tried for centuries to forge a good life. Intellectually substantial and deeply personal, Spinster is both an unreservedly inquisitive memoir and a broader cultural exploration that asks us to acknowledge the opportunities within ourselves to live authentically. Bolick offers us a way back into our own lives--a chance to see those splendid years when we were young and unencumbered, or middle-aged and finally left to our own devices, for what they really are: unbounded and our own to savor., A New York Times Book Review Notable Book "Whom to marry, and when will it happen--these two questions define every woman's existence." So begins Spinster , a revelatory and slyly erudite look at the pleasures and possibilities of remaining single. Using her own experiences as a starting point, journalist and cultural critic Kate Bolick invites us into her carefully considered, passionately lived life, weaving together the past and present to examine why颅 she--along with over 100 million American women, whose ranks keep growing--remains unmarried. This unprecedented demographic shift, Bolick explains, is the logical outcome of hundreds of years of change that has neither been fully understood, nor appreciated. Spinster introduces a cast of pioneering women from the last century whose genius, tenacity, and flair for drama have emboldened Bolick to fashion her life on her own terms: columnist Neith Boyce, essayist Maeve Brennan, social visionary Charlotte Perkins Gilman, poet Edna St. Vincent Millay, and novelist Edith Wharton. By animating their unconventional ideas and choices, Bolick shows us that contemporary debates about settling down, and having it all, are timeless--the crucible upon which all thoughtful women have tried for centuries to forge a good life. Intellectually substantial and deeply personal, Spinster is both an unreservedly inquisitive memoir and a broader cultural exploration that asks us to acknowledge the opportunities within ourselves to live authentically. Bolick offers us a way back into our own lives--a chance to see those splendid years when we were young and unencumbered, or middle-aged and finally left to our own devices, for what they really are: unbounded and our own to savor., A bold, original, moving book that will inspire fanatical devotion and ignite debate. "Whom to marry, and when will it happen--these two questions define every woman's existence." So begins "Spinster," a revelatory and slyly erudite look at the pleasures and possibilities of remaining single. Using her own experiences as a starting point, journalist and cultural critic Kate Bolick invites us into her carefully considered, passionately lived life, weaving together the past and present to examine why- she--along with over 100 million American women, whose ranks keep growing--remains unmarried. This unprecedented demographic shift, Bolick explains, is the logical outcome of hundreds of years of change that has neither been fully understood, nor appreciated. "Spinster" introduces a cast of pioneering women from the last century whose genius, tenacity, and flair for drama have emboldened Bolick to fashion her life on her own terms: journalist Neith Boyce, essayist Maeve Brennan, social reformer Charlotte Perkins Gilman, poet Edna St. Vincent Millay, and novelist Edith Wharton. By animating their unconventional ideas and choices, Bolick shows us that contemporary debates about settling down, and having it all, are timeless, the crucible upon which all thoughtful women have tried for centuries to forge a good life. Intellectually substantial and deeply personal, "Spinster" is a new kind of unreservedly inquisitive work of memoir and broader cultural exploration that asks us to acknowledge the opportunities that exist within ourselves to live authentically. Bolick offers readers a way back into their own lives--a chance to see those splendid years when we were young and unencumbered, or middle-aged and finally left to our own devices, for what they really are: unbounded and our own to savor., An electric and bracingly original story that expands our understanding of what it means to choose a life alone. "Whom to marry, and when will it happen--these two questions define every woman's existence, regardless of where she was raised or what religion she does or doesn't practice." So begins "Spinster," a revelatory, lyrical, and slyly erudite look at the pleasures and possibilities of remaining single. Using her own experiences as a starting point, journalist and cultural critic Kate Bolick invites us into her carefully considered, passionately lived life, weaving together the past and present to examine why- she--along with over 100 million American women, whose ranks keep growing--remains unmarried, yet still cannot outrun those two pesky questions. This unprecedented demographic shift, Bolick explains, is the logical outcome of hundreds of years of change that has neither been fully understood, nor appreciated. "Spinster" introduces a cast of pioneering women from the last century whose genius, tenacity, and flair for drama have emboldened Bolick to fashion her life on her own terms: journalist Neith Boyce, essayist Maeve Brennan, social reformer Charlotte Perkins Gilman, poet Edna St. Vincent Millay, and novelist Edith Wharton. By animating their unconventional ideas and choices, Bolick shows us that contemporary debates about settling down, and having it all, are timeless, the crucible upon which all thoughtful women have tried for centuries to forge a good life. Intellectually substantial and deeply personal, "Spinster" is a new kind of unreservedly inquisitive work of memoir and broader cultural exploration that asks us to acknowledge the opportunities that exist within ourselves to live authentically. Bolick offers readers a way back into their own lives--a chance to see those splendid years when we were young and unencumbered, or middle-aged and finally left to our own devices, for what they really are: open, unbound, and our own to savor., The history of modern letters is dotted with blockbuster books that each offered, as if for the first time, a window into the way women live: Helen Gurley Brown's Sex and theSingle Girl, Gail Sheehy's Passages, Clarissa Pinkola Estes's Women Who Run with the Wolves, Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love. Each of these books were a kind of bible for the women of their time who were looking for the intimate space that stories provide to explore the full terrain of their lives.In the tradition of the best of these books, Kate Bolick, the writer whose Atlantic cover story "All the Single Ladies" attracted an unprecedented amount of attention, offers up a stirring and revelatory portrait of her own life as it has been guided and inspired by a series of women writers and thinkers whose unconventional lives--mostly if notexclusively lived alone--have a lot to teach us all today.We meet a tight group of exceptional women whose genius, tenacity, and flair for drama have lit the way for Kate--poet Edna St. Vincent Millay, New Yorker contributor Maeve Brennan, great novelist and interior decorator Edith Wharton, and the little known but completely fascinating novelist and playwright Neith Boyce. Each well-known in their lifetimes, the fullness and complexity of these womens' lives have been lost to history. Woven throughout it all is an utterly charming portrait of a modern woman asking timeless yet still controversial questions about the meaning of a single woman's life both to herself and to society.Kate Bolick's is a book that will both inspire debate and spawn all variety of girl crushes. It is the kind of slyly erudite, utterly frank work of memoir and broader cultural exploration that offers readers a way back into their own lives, a way of seeing those splendid years when we were young and unencumbered, or middle-agedand finally left to our own devices, for what they really are: open and free and our own to savour., Whom to marry, and when will it happen these two questions define every woman s existence. So begins "Spinster," a revelatory and slyly erudite look at the pleasures and possibilities of remaining single. Using her own experiences as a starting point, journalist and cultural critic Kate Bolick invites us into her carefully considered, passionately lived life, weaving together the past and present to examine why she along with over 100 million American women, whose ranks keep growing remains unmarried. This unprecedented demographic shift, Bolick explains, is the logical outcome of hundreds of years of change that has neither been fully understood, nor appreciated. "Spinster" introduces a cast of pioneering women from the last century whose genius, tenacity, and flair for drama have emboldened Bolick to fashion her life on her own terms: columnist Neith Boyce, essayist Maeve Brennan, social visionary Charlotte Perkins Gilman, poet Edna St. Vincent Millay, and novelist Edith Wharton. By animating their unconventional ideas and choices, Bolick shows us that contemporary debates about settling down, and having it all, are timeless the crucible upon which all thoughtful women have tried for centuries to forge a good life. Intellectually substantial and deeply personal, "Spinster" is both an unreservedly inquisitive memoir and a broader cultural exploration that asks us to acknowledge the opportunities within ourselves to live authentically. Bolick offers us a way back into our own lives a chance to see those splendid years when we were young and unencumbered, or middle-aged and finally left to our own devices, for what they really are: unbounded and our own to savor."