Singleness Done Right, by Synthia Josma
My review: ★★★
This is a book about feeling content and fulfilled as a single person. It’s not a dating book, and it’s not about preparing yourself for finding Mr. Right, or partying hard. It covers getting to know yourself and your purpose, building better friendships, learning and working on your own imperfections, and feeling complete as a single person. Each chapter ends with a short exercise for you to think through, to apply the teachings from that chapter to your own life.
The book is a pretty quick read. I think I could have gotten through it in a couple of hours if I’d read it all in one session. It will take longer if you truly sit and think through each of the chapter exercises, in order to get the most out of the book.
This book is best for people who are feeling anxious about being single. Perhaps you’ve never been in a very serious relationship, and you’re feeling distressed about never finding the right partner. Perhaps you just got out of a serious relationship and are re-learning how to live and enjoy a single life. Or, if you know a friend in one of these situations, this book may make a good gift to lift their spirits. Especially right now – for many people, being forced to stay home and socially distance yourself means feeling more alone than ever.
The book is written with an emphasis on women, but a man in the same situation would find it valuable too.
This book has a lot of focus on connecting with God and the Bible, so it is best for Christians who are open to strengthening their spiritual ties. Someone who is spiritual but not Christian, and doesn’t mind reading through some Bible scripture, would probably enjoy the book well enough. A non-spiritual person would probably end up skipping a third of the book or so.
There’s nothing wrong with this book, but it wasn’t really for me. I don’t have anything against people wanting to spend their single season strengthening their religious belief – in fact I respect it a lot. But my own preference would be to immerse myself in projects and doing good for others. I just didn’t personally connect with all the advice in this book, but others with stronger spiritual focus probably would. It’s all good advice.
