ALL THE SINGLE LADIES Unmarried Women and the Rise of an Independent Nation

In 2009, the percentage of American women who were not married surpassed 50 percent. Traister's important book examines that phenomenon. Narrator Candace Thaxton handles both the exposition and the interviews with passion, drawing on the indignation of some of the interviewees who defend their decision to delay or forgo marriage, often in defiance of family and friends. Thaxton gives a nuanced presentation yet speaks with conviction about a culture that struggles to adjust to self-reliant women who throw off expectations that the ultimate goal of their lives is a wedding, marriage, and children. Maintaining the tone of an observer who has empathy for her subjects, Thaxton is engaged with their struggles and takes pleasure in their successes. J.E.M. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine [Published: APRIL 2016]