The Catholic Girl's Survival Guide for the Single Years: The Nuts and Bolts of Staying Sane and Happy While Waiting for Mr. Right

This is a good book, not great. The book market is quickly getting saturated with books on the single life and this one does not really stand out in any way. It contains the same advice and non-answers that many of the other books out there provide. While the book wasn't remarkable, I did enjoy reading it and I only give it three stars because I've heard it all before. Here is my breakdown of pros and cons.Pros:-Very well written, in a clear and engaging style.-Emily comes from a devoutly Catholic perspective which provides encouragement to those who are trying to live the single life in accord with the Catholic faith. She doesn't water down the Catholic Church teachings but has many inspriational things to say for those trying to live faithfully to the church while single.-I admire Emily as a person. I haven't met her, but from reading her book she sounds like she would be a lot of fun to hang out with. She is not a one-dimensional, rigid or formalistic faith seeker but a human being with varied interests and a distinct personality and that comes through in her writing. It made reading the book fun without being a lecture.-This would be an awesome book to give to a parish priest, or parish volunteer or helpful married friends. I say this, because they DO NOT get the issues that relate to being single. The author relates the sometimes painful realities of singlehood in a way that is gentle and not bitter, angry or resentful. I've seen some books/writings lean this direction in the form of sarcasm or rants. Emily is a great role model that handles her state in life with grace. So if you want to initiate others into the phenomenon of singlehood this is a great place to start.-Emily's treatment of the culture war and the reasons behind the increased number of singless is exceptional. While these are observations that I've had and things that I've thought, I have never seen it written down. I really appreciated, from a deep place, that someone was able to finally say something relevant and meaningful about why so many people are single.Cons:-I have heard all of this stuff before (except for the culture thing). Maybe this isn't the author's fault, but much of this is information,advice or insights that I have already come upon. I would also like to add that I went to a Catholic University and I am about her age and single. I didn't learn from it, probably because I am at the same point in life as her. So if you're in the same age range, this might not be the book for you. I would say mid-to late 20s is probably the audience to which this book has the most to offer.-One of the reviews said this book provides good advice that gets down into the nitty-gritty. I would agree that book contained good advice but Emily's strength is in the big picture. She didn't really give much practical advice except for the moments when she told me what to wear. I am a grown woman with established fashion sensibilities. I do not need a book that tells me that words on my bottom are less than classy. Teenagers might, but I don't. When she gets to the practical stuff it seems meant for people that really just don't have a clue and again it is superficial stuff.-I'm waiting for a Catholic/Christian book that doesn't tell me that living out my God-given vocation of authentic femininity involves wearing mascara, swishy skirts or some other inane superficial article of clothing. I don't like make-up, I don't like swishy skirts and I don't like Audrey Hepburn movies or Jane Austen. By reading most Christian literature directed to women you would think I would have just denied my feminity to the core by my previous declaration. I don't have anything against those things and I don't dress like I'm Amish but many Christian writers for some reason make the assumption that all women who aren't "girlie girlie" are too dowdy to get married, belong in a convent or are "afraid" of their femininity and thereby violate the natural law in some way. I honestly feel sometimes after reading Christian women that I am deeply offending God and will be condemned to hell if I don't wear make-up or swishy skirts. What is up what that? When answering the question of how to get in touch with your authentic femininity Christian authors often say things like, wear mascara, pretty clothes and shoes. I will never like old movies where the women all act like hysterical idiots and want the men to do all the thinking for them. I think Jane Austen is a genius but clearly was not living in reality when it came to relationships with men. Please will Christian female writers stop with this shallow and one-dimensional view of femininity? Can we take it upon ourselves to dig a little deeper? To temper this con a bit, I will say she does make some good suggestions revolving around the idea of self-gift. However, it would have been nice and refreshing if she would have delved a little bit more into a mediation of feminine receptivity and self-gift instead of spending the inordinate amount of time she does on retail therapy (I skipped most of this) and then mention things like self-gift as a cursory afterthought. I mean you can get bubble baths, wine and retail therapy from Cosmo. When I read books like hers I am looking for the distinctively Catholic element and I would have liked that part of the message to be at the forefront.-Nothing that she said was all that bad or all that good. I want to be clear, I think the book was well done, from a writing standpoint. However to make this book 4 or 5 star worthy I would have liked Emily to dig a little deeper. Her treatment of the single life was somewhat superficial and lacked insight. The insightful moments she had were when she quoted other authers (like Janet Smith or JP II). However, she wasn't able to provide her own contribution to those quotes in a meaningful way.- Another thing I am looking for in a Catholic single book is one that is not written from the assumption that we are all going to get married. Her book on the surface accomodates the possibility that the single life might be for the rest of your life, but didn't really say how this could be a good thing. Most of it involved making the best of life "right now" (sigh, shoulders slumped). It seemed like the suggestions she offered were nothing that you could build a life upon and made the single life out to be a life of compromise and waiting, nothing to get passionate about.Overall, I think if she treated the notions of self-gift, reciptivity and authentic femininity with a little bit more depth she would have had a 5 star book rating from me. In the end, I want to know that my femininity, my joy and my destiny are things which I have an inherent claim upon which and of which I cannot be robbed, no matter what my life circumstances are or no matter what my particular abeyance to current fashion trends. If I find a book like that, I will give it 5 stars, this book, however, falls short of the mark.

Somehow in the last couple of years I've become something of a connoisseur of Catholic singles books. Not really how I'd planned to usher in my late twenties, but now I have the experience necessary to tell you: THIS, this book is a keeper.As the title suggests, "The Catholic Girl's Survival Guide for the Single Years" has a wonderful practical slant that really sets it apart. Even when Stimpson's talking theology, her eye is always on how the ideas translate into the way you live your life; and by the same token, her discussion of the various practical minutiae of life is always directed toward the One Thing Necessary. The humor is genuinely funny, the advice Q&A sections actually address questions I've pondered, and the whole thing offers a great framework for any single woman to approach life. Sure, there isn't a lot of room to go into any great detail, but Stimpson's quite clear about her aim to offer an outline rather than some sort of comprehensive tome, and it really works. Perhaps best of all, it's not just a "sex and dating" book; it's actually about single LIFE, including friendships, education, work, finances, etc.Thinking about who the book is for: well, obviously it's for girls. Men really need their own book about single life. (And I sincerely hope some savvy guy is out there writing it.) Age-wise, I reckon this book is MAGIC because it really would appeal to nearly any age group. I suppose for maximum impact, I'd give it to a girl in her junior year of high school -- at least in MY day, that's when we started thinking about college, and Stimpson has quite sensible things to say about education, work, and marriage. But then there is plenty of valuable wisdom for any girl navigating the dating scene, watching her friends get married, and/or trying to figure out her next steps at any age. Like I said, magic.There are a lot of books out there about single life, but this is a really, really good one. Even if you think you're sick and tired of Catholic books about single life (which was my attitude before I caved and bought this), trust me, you don't want to miss this one.In re the Kindle edition: it's pretty darn good. Kudos to the publishers. My only minor criticism is that there are cute little incidental illustrations that are less cute wedged into the text than they are (I'm assuming) scattered across the page. But on the whole it's well formatted. Well worth the money; in fact, I'll probably buy it in paperback, that's how much I like it.

I am a devout Catholic woman in my 30s and always thought I'd be married and have children in my 20s. That didn't happen and that's ok. I have read a lot of books on this - A LOT - of books and this is the first one that I can honestly say I loved from beginning to end. Not sure if this is the part that I should admit that I ordered the book Tuesday it arrived on Wednesday at noon and I proceeded to read the whole thing over the next 4 or 5 hours, but there it is. There is not one thing in here that I said "this isn't for me" or "she doesn't understand". I believe the reason is she is single, Catholic and in her 30s just like me, doesn't necessarily want to be but accepts that this is God's Will for her right now. Do not get me wrong it's not that all the other books I read weren't good but more likely then not at some point in the process of that woman writing her book she meets her husband and it changes her viewpoint and honestly it probably also makes me assume her viewpoint is slanted. But I digress, bottomline I would recommend this to all my remaining single friends (not sure I actually have any, I kid!) and to all those around me who don't quite know what to do, say or advise us (priests, family, friends and the like). Also this isn't just for women in their 30s or older I felt this SAME way when things weren't happening and I was in my 20s...longing for marriage shouldn't be discounted just because a woman is 23 if it's what she is called for the longing and loneliness she feels is just the same as those of use who are older...Fantastic book!

I hoped this book would be encouraging and I saw on the reviews that for many it was. Unfortunately it wasn’t for me. As much as I respect Christian/Catholic teachings I want a Real man who loves me and wants to be with me. I have met some nice men who do not attend church yet have faith. A man with genuine faith for me is the real person. Also I just finished Danielle Bean’s Momnipotent book which feeds my dream rather than makes me mad that I am single.

I help people. This is what I do for a living (total self-disclosure: I am a 38-year old Catholic priest). I needed this book not just for others, but because I am human, and appreciate any book that makes me a better human being and a better priest. This book is one of those.

Highly Recommend this book! Share it with teenage daughters and even women in their 20's!