Sing Your Own Song: A Guide for Single Moms - Softcover

Cynthia Orange is a writer, editor, creative writing instructor, and writing consultant who has authored five booklets for Hazelden and co-authored the best-selling meditation book Today's Gift. She has published over 450 articles, columns, and guest editorials, including several award winners. She lives in West Saint Paul, Minnesota.Cynthia brings equal parts information and inspiration to this pragmatic yet soulful guide for single moms. Managing time and money, juggling the demands of work and child care, balancing personal needs with parenting responsibilities-these are the everyday concerns Orange addresses with preach-free common sense and welcome candor. Interwoven with firsthand stories and experiences, Sing Your Own Song resonates with affirmation and support for single moms everywhere.

A creative writing instructor at the University of Minnesota, Orange was a single mother two decades ago for a couple of years before remarrying. For this book, she has put that experience into perspective without bitterness, hate, or sappy optimism. She opens with a thoughtful look at "family" that emphasizes unconditional love, open communication, and a "bond that transcends biology or marriage." This is followed by straightforward advice that helps single moms evaluate what they can do to take care of their needs and ask for help. Chapters deal with several issues: helping children be resilient, managing a home/job/ school, juggling romantic relationships and sex, and dealing with neighbors and grandparents all in a tone that's realistic and helpful. After all, as she quotes Andrea Engber in The Complete Single Mother, "You are single, not dead." Take a minute, Orange advises again and again. "Life, love, and happiness are fluid. They require movement and risk." Resources galore throughout; recommended for public libraries.
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