Author Cindy Guidry: being single is not a stigma
The author's wickedly funny collection of essays is a mostly true memoir about being happy all by herself.
By Tammar Stein, Special to the Times
Published February 19, 2008
The Last Single Woman in America
Cindy Guidry (Dutton, 293 pages, $24.95)
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Are you still grumpy over that tacky, saccharine holiday stuck in the middle of the dreariest month of the year? Have no fear. Cindy Guidry, the self-proclaimed "last single woman in America," is here.
A sometimes employed film executive in her early 40s, Guidry spares no one, herself included, from her quirky humor and honest assessments.
"I lie about my age constantly, although, in my defense, I always lie up. When I was thirty-eight, I started telling people I was forty just so it wouldn't freak me out when it really happened. Now that I'm forty, I routinely tack on half a decade or so in an effort to elicit compliments. Oh my god, you're forty-five! You look great! To me, it makes a lot more sense than pretending to be thirty-five and having people talk about how I'm starting to look a little worn."
Guidry prefaces her essays with a post-James Frey reality check. In her author's note she makes sure you realize these are essays based on her life and mostly true, but partly enhanced for your reading pleasure. In other words: Read them, enjoy them, but don't sue.
For those familiar with Carrie Bradshaw's musings on men, dating, girlfriends and careers, none of these essays will be particularly groundbreaking. But readers will be able to relate to most of Guidry's exploits, unlike Sex and the City's over-the-top glamor and sex escapades. So many of her essays focus on her lack of a partner that should this book be turned into a television show, it might be called No Sex in the City.
A hopeless romantic, neurotic and funny, Guidry puts her heart on her sleeve. Sure, she dishes on ex-boyfriends and married friends' messed-up lives, her various insecurities and longing for a true soul mate, but at their core her essays take a firm stand: While it would be great if he came around, she doesn't need Prince Charming. She can live happily ever after all by herself.
Tammar Stein's new novel, "High Dive," will be published in June.