All the Single Ladies

Unmarried Women and the Rise of an Independent Nation

By: Rebecca Traister

Narrated by: Candace Thaxton, Rebecca Traister - introduction

In a provocative, groundbreaking work, National Magazine Award finalist Rebecca Traister, "the most brilliant voice on feminism in this country" (Anne Lamott), traces the history of unmarried women in America who, through social, political, and economic means, have radically shaped our nation.

For legions of women, living single isn't news; it's life. In 2009, the award-winning journalist Rebecca Traister started All the Single Ladies - a book she thought would be a work of contemporary journalism - about the 21st-century phenomenon of the American single woman. It was the year the proportion of American women who were married dropped below 50 percent, and the median age of first marriages, which had remained between 20 and 22 years old for nearly a century (1890-1980), had risen dramatically to 27.

But over the course of her vast research and more than 100 interviews with academics, social scientists, and prominent single women, Traister discovered a startling truth: The phenomenon of the single woman in America is not a new one. And historically, when women were given options beyond early heterosexual marriage, the results were massive social change - temperance, abolition, secondary education, and more. Today, only 20 percent of Americans are wed by age 29, compared to nearly 60 percent in 1960. The Population Reference Bureau calls it a "dramatic reversal".

All the Single Ladies is a remarkable portrait of contemporary American life and how we got here, through the lens of the single American woman. Covering class, race, and sexual orientation and filled with vivid anecdotes from fascinating contemporary and historical figures, All the Single Ladies is destined to be a classic work of social history and journalism. Exhaustively researched, brilliantly balanced, and told with Traister's signature wit and insight, this book should be shelved alongside Gail Collins' When Everything Changed.

©2016 Rebecca Traister (P)2016 Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Thank you Rebecca Traister for this book! As a 40-something divorced mother of five, I have struggled to find my identity outside of my traditional marriage. This book feels like a roadmap or at least guideposts to how to be a woman at this phase of my life! I am also sharing what I am learning with my two adult daughters. It's empowering to have a modern compendium of excellent women to turn to in 2016!

Yes, Read It

Love the message, love the speaker's voice, love what I learned! Definitely going to use this knowledge to better the world.

Two Thumbs up to All the Single Ladies & Rebecca!!!

Loved the book! Had a lot of interesting research based facts! I especially enjoyed the interviews with real life women of various backgrounds & upbringings!!

Enjoyed the book

I enjoyed this book. I found it very eye opening but at a certain point it felt like the writer was just repeating herself and making the same point over and over again. Overall, I was thankful that she talked about all the options we have as women today. I'm not someone who is rushing to get married and start a family and this book made me feel better about that and that it's completely normal.

Great performance

The reader was wonderfully alive and made the words jump off the page. Made me feel like someone was having a conversation with me. The content is great on its own, and read by the right person made it an excellent experience.

At the top of my all-time favourites list

What made the experience of listening to All the Single Ladies the most enjoyable?

Traister writes charmingly and with a depth of knowledge on the various aspects of what it means to be single in both the U.S. and, to an extent, the larger world. In this one book, Traister cohesively brings together the inputs and outputs that make unmarried life desirable, challenging and (un)intentional, articulating how it all connects and the resulting implications.

If you could give All the Single Ladies a new subtitle, what would it be?

It already belongs to the subtitle it needs.

Any additional comments?

Beyond the remarkable execution, this book speaks to everything that is in me; it voices my hopes, fears, and the realities that inform the life that I've cultivated and have observed in the women that I most respect. Traister (and Candace Thaxton for her audio presentation of the material) has my deepest and hearty thanks.

Best book I’ve read so far this year!

I can’t stop talking about this book! I’ve been telling all my friends about it. It’s phenomenal! Go read it!

Information, Educational, and Without Apology

What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?

The sheer detail and compelling nature of the stories and histories provided

What does Candace Thaxton and Rebecca Traister - introduction bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Inflection in terms of irony and empathic moments are enunciated well and performed clearly even when the source material runs long in the wording or phrasing.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

A not-so-secret society of single women integral to the fabric of America, and how they are more than what they are told to be.

Any additional comments?

Fantastic, sometimes hard to hear, very informative and helpful to know and hear options for improving the future.

A must read for all the single ladies

I love this book so much that I’ve sent it to two other family members(under 30). I am a 33 y.o southern woman, but knew the nuptials in the south were not for me, neither did I want a man with the same southern mentality (gender roles). This book has completely changed my perspective on relationships and marriage. It’s reaffirmed my no-fucks-given personality about patriarchal society’s idea of a “healthy” marriage.

Buy the book, thank me later and have sister circles for discussion.

Put Your Hands Up

This book is phenomenal and Rebecca Traister is a TRUE feminist. Not only does she throughly and thoughtful catalog the history and lives of single women in America, she makes sure that this book could represent a majority of women, even in small ways. I recommend this book to every feminist (that means men too!)!!!