Single at Heart: The Power, Freedom, and Heart-Filling Joy of Single Life
*Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Finalist*
From acclaimed social scientist Dr. Bella DePaulo, the leading expert on single life, comes groundbreaking, comprehensive confirmation that a powerful, healthy, happy life is possible not in spite of being single, but because of it.
All too often society issues dire warnings about the risks of living single. But is finding a spouse or romantic partner really a requirement for a full life? In Single at Heart, Dr. Bella DePaulo speaks on behalf of the millions of people across the globe who are powerfully drawn to single life for all it has to offer and shares what it means to not just be happy being single for a time, but to be happy being single always.
This pivotal volume addresses misconceptions about single life head on, spotlighting, celebrating, and supporting those who plan to stay single and sharing research, case studies, anecdotal examples, and more to help family members and friends understand. In richly engaging, evidence-based text, Dr. DePaulo--a Harvard-educated professor and researcher whose Ted Talk on the appeal of staying single has had more that 1.6 million views--supports readers of all genders, ages, and backgrounds who are Single at Heart and advises on topics as diverse as solitude, freedom, intimacy, children, and societal pressure.
For Dr. DePaulo, her understanding of herself as Single at Heart provided strength, time, confidence, power, authenticity, deep fulfillment, and more. In Single at Heart she shares what she's learned as well as the stories of others, in the process inspiring and fueling a movement of people standing up for what is right for them and thriving because of it.
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Advance Praise for Single at Heart
"Bella DePaulo isn't just a powerhouse, she's a lighthouse. She reveals what the Couples Industrial Complex don't want you to know. More power to her for chipping away at reductive and fundamentally baseless single stigmas. We need more luminaries like her." --Catherine Gray, author of The Unexpected Joy of Being Single
"Bella DePaulo has unparalleled perspective and insight into singlehood. In this book, DePaulo compellingly shows what it means to be single at heart, bringing together years of research and personal experience. Single at Heart is for those who are single at heart--and for those who are not." --Naomi Cahn, University of Virginia School of Law and author of Red Families V. Blue Families
"DePaulo has drawn the fullest and most accurate portrait of ME I have ever read. This is the book I've waited for since I was nineteen years old and longed for someone to assure me I wasn't abnormal for not seeing marriage as a prize and romantic partnership as nirvana." --Keturah Kendrick, author of No Thanks: Black, Female, and Living in the Martyr-Free Zone
"Single at Heart is the book society needs to finally stop believing that singlehood is a stop along the way to happiness. This book is so heartfelt and helpful--for everyone, regardless of their relationship status. It's a compassionate book about how to find happiness within oneself." --Ginny Hogan, author of I'm More Dateable than a Plate of Refried Beans
"If you need a break from all the cultural chatter coming at you 24-7 insisting that you can't really be happy if you're single, Bella DePaulo's new book, Single at Heart, is a must-read. As a lifelong single person, I started out, pen in hand, ready to underline and highlight and put a ton of exclamation marks in the margins--and then very quickly realized I was going to have to underline the whole book." --Gina Fattore, novelist and TV writer, author of The Spinster Diaries and writer-producer on Dawson's Creek, Gilmore Girls, and Parenthood
"Bella DePaulo writes with characteristic panache and passion about the rewards of flying solo. I read Single at Heart with delight and a frequent chuckle, at her wit, her good cheer, and her irrepressible joy in life and love." --Fenton Johnson, author of At the Center of All Beauty: Solitude and the Creative Life
"Masterfully dismantling age-old misconceptions about singlehood, Bella DePaulo reveals in this book the vibrant, authentic lives of those 'single at heart.' This book is a powerful reminder that living single isn't a compromise for many people, but a profound, deeply fulfilling life path." --Elyakim Kislev, author of Happy Singlehood: The Rising Acceptance and Celebration of Solo Living
"DePaulo's most personal book continues her brilliant takedown of pop-psychology's insistence on wedlock as a prophylactic against just about everything bad. Anyone who is immersed in the uncoupled life, who is somewhat single at heart, or who cares about someone single at heart must read this pathfinding book." --Jaclyn Geller, author of Moving Past Marriage: Why We Should Ditch Marital Privilege, End Relationship-Status Discrimination, and Embrace Nonmarital History
"For those who consider themselves 'single at heart, ' this book will be a haven, refuting the societal stereotypes that often undermine and undervalue the profound contentment that so many single people experience. To everyone else, DePaulo's richly researched book will open their minds to the myriad ways we can find intimacy, care, and fulfillment." --Rhaina Cohen, author of The Other Significant Others
"We may be two decades into the twenty-first century, but it is still a 'truth' universally acknowledged that any uncoupled person must be in search of a spouse. I loved DePaolo's mixture of hard data, compelling life stories, and thoughtful writing. Whatever your current relationship status, you have to read this book." --David Robson, author of The Intelligence Trap and The Expectation Effect
"Bella DePaulo makes a powerful case for rethinking our assumptions about love, marriage, and happiness. Her work is essential for anyone interested in imagining what an expansive, meaningful single life can look like." --Mandy Len Catron, author of How to Fall in Love with Anyone
"With this book out in the world, I think we might see a whole new wave of both men and women who have finally been given the permission they need to step out of the shadows and into an authentic life on their own terms. In case you can't tell, I more than loved this book. Everyone should read it." --Lucy Meggeson, host of the podcast Spinsterhood Reimagined
