Falling for Me

June 27, 2011
In love with a married man, the author, a dating expert and writer, is shattered by the heartbreak. Seeking guidance and solace from the bookstore relationship aisle to help her recover and break bad patterns, she stumbles upon Helen Gurley Brown's seminal 1962 book Sex and the Single Girl and is hooked. David finds it full of tips on how a woman can achieve an appreciation for herself and gratitude for being unattached if she wants to be. It "was giving me a hopeful message combined with a realistic plan... to break down the walls I've erected." David embarks on a year-long project to remake herself, trying to conquer the fear and resistance that has gotten in her way. She starts with online dating and moves on to transforming her home into a place that's inviting, embracing cooking for herself, upgrading her wardrobe and traveling on her own to a country where she doesn't speak the language. There's no question that some of David's pursuits are silly (her philosophies on bras; chasing down Brown's vitamin guru), and Brown, who wasn't opposed to anorexia, isn't always a great role model. Nevertheless, the author's all-out commitment makes for a thoughtful chronicle with inspiring lessons in personal growth and building a life one loves from the inside out.

July 15, 2011

Single and suffering from the lack of a serious relationship, this 30-something author and TV personality enlisted the pre-feminist advice of the original Cosmo Girl. Her candid memoir details one woman's search for love in the wired 21st century.

Though happy with her career, David (Bought, 2009, etc.) heard her biological clock ticking loudly and realized her life was devoid of eligible male companionship. After stumbling across a copy of Sex and the Single Girl, a romantic how-to book written in 1962 by Cosmopolitan former editor, Helen Gurley Brown, David embarked on "Gurley-afying" herself: "What if I tried every last suggestion she gave for becoming more feminine and meeting men?" With that approach in mind, the author jumped into redecorating her drab apartment, learning to cook and dressing more attractively. She strove to develop a "richer inner life" and worked on what were the "less-than ideal parts of myself." In between her self-improvement episodes, David lays bare her life. The author analyzes her family travails, failed relationships and past substance-abuse problems and discusses how this messy combination laid the foundation for her current dearth of male companionship and lackluster personal life. David tried online dating, began cooking meals at home, traveled alone for fun and actually took a pottery class instead of just talking about it. "By pushing myself to follow Helen's instructions for living," she writes, "I've discovered just how simple it can be to change who I always thought I was." David captures her escapades and social encounters with a snappy writing style and keen observation of the mating rituals of urban professionals approaching middle age.

The author's shtick is sure to appeal to women who are stymied by a similar situation, while others may find David's romantic quest a bit tedious at times—but still worth a quick glance.  

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