I started reading this book on a Saturday night, home alone. I’d been in pyjamas from around 5pm, before finally turning in for bed around 8pm. In other words, don’t expect this book to change your life from page 1.

How to Be Single is a novel from one of the authors of He’s Just Not That Into You, and carries the same witty humour we came to love from that groundbreaking book. In this novel, Liz Tuccillo writes of a 38 year old single woman who travels the world to speak with single women from other countries with a sole purpose; to find out if any women are coping with the tragedy of being single, better than the Americans.

Personally, I am single. I don’t think this fact makes my life tragic. That said, some of my friends have tried to ‘fix’ this part of my life for me. They have tried taking me out to bars, encouraged skimpy clothes, and winked as I talked to men. I didn’t pick up this book because I wanted help, I picked it up because it has a catchy title, and while we may have been told never to judge a book by its cover, we almost always do!

What this book did teach me was;

1. If a gorgeous Frenchman wants to meet you in Bali because he can’t be away from you any longer, go to Bali.
2. If you’re about to make a major, life-changing, possibly permanent decision, make sure you have friends around you.
3. Getting divorced is NOT a death sentence.
4. While some women can marry a man they respect and are fond of, that doesn’t mean we should all forgo love simply to be married.
5. That said, be open to love. It may be the most terrifying experience of your life (and may break your heart), but love is part of the journey.

There was something else in this book. A profound message which cannot be explained here (for lack of words), and which I refuse to repeat to you (to save me from copy write laws). However, the humour in this book is there to balance to brutal message hidden within its pages. It may be challenging, it might make you angry, but this book should be read by ALL women. Single and searching, single and don’t care and those who are already in a relationship. Read this book. It has life messages we all need to know.