In this combination memoir/self-help book, author Greta Booth delivers the premise that women don’t need the traditional husband, baby, and white picket fence lifestyle to find happiness.

Booth contends that by allowing life events to unfold without stressing about ticking internal clocks, women can enjoy their lives to the fullest—whether or not they involve romantic partnerships. She also directs the book to single-curious woman who wants to know how to develop a rich, full, partner-less life before potentially leaving a relationship. Across the spectrum of target audiences, Booth guides women towards self-sufficiency: financially, emotionally, and physically.

Booth uses her own life story to highlight the possibilities, sharing personal anecdotes that range from failed relationships to stories about rebuilding her financial life after overspending to those about spirituality’s role in her life. She reveals feelings that many dissatisfied women can relate to, sharing her stories and feelings honestly, even bluntly.

A Singular Life also offers plenty of practical advice, including about how to manage finances as a single woman: creating and monitoring a budget, deciding what kind of home to buy, shaping a rewarding career, and more. Other advice focuses on fostering healthy attitudes towards diets and weight, lifestyles that include friendships and fun, and dating without feeling pressure to marry the perfect man.

Booth’s guidance is down to earth and useful, clearly coming from a place of experience to help women create uniquely satisfying lives as single people. The memoir-like sections, however, can dilute the idea that she’s found happiness as a single woman, as they range from engaging stories about her journey to ones where her bitter feelings towards the men that she dated predominate. This disparate tone can be jolting to a reader.

That unevenness doesn’t eliminate the effectiveness of the self-help tips she provides, however, and readers will find value in her advice.

Also available as an ebook.