Free (nook/Kindle/iTunes) Sole Sisters [African-American Singles Stories Sociology]

[ATDrake]

Sole Sisters: The Joys and Pains of Black Women by journalist and former White House news correspondent Deborah Mathis (Wikipedia) is her quasi-sociological demographic survey cum life stories and derived insights about Exactly What It Says In The Title, interviewing a wide range of African-American women about their single status, from ones who embraced it, to ones who were resigned to it, to ones who were working to change it, etc., free courtesy of publisher Agate.

From a quick skim, this looks pretty nifty and while it's written in a friendly, layperson-accessible style with chatty anecdotes and such, it's also backed by a professional going-over of various social and economic and other factors which contribute to the apparently increasing tendency of black women to become unpartnered in modern life since the 1950s that wouldn't be out of place in a more formal report style of book.

Currently free, probably just until the weekend @ B&N (may also drop in the UK), Amazon (not available to Canadians, but also free in the UK), iTunes (not available to Canadians), and might also show up later as a DRM-free PDF download available worldwide directly @ the publisher's webcatalogue page (currently just the presskit is up), as Agate freebies sometimes do (but seem to have been skipping in recent weeks).

And this has been the (late!) selected 3rd (non-repeat) free ebook thread of the day.

Because I love quasi-pop-academic sociological stuff with oral history-type ethnographic-ish interviews with it, and this is close enough and also focuses on a broad subsection of an often overlooked portion of US society, which is always interesting to see, so

Enjoy!

Description
The news is not good for black women when it comes to finding a partner. Where not long ago there were roughly two married women to every single woman, those numbers have gradually reversed over the past few decades—now, more than 60 percent of black women have either never married or are divorced. These numbers are far greater than those of any other social group, and the trend shows no sign of reversing.

So what are black women to do if their odds of finding a husband or life partner are getting longer every year? How do they find their way through life as "sole sisters"? What are the unique challenges they face in terms of companionship, love, sex, and motherhood?

In order to find out, veteran journalist Deborah Mathis—herself the divorced mother of two daughters—interviewed 125 single black women in order to delve into the realities of life as they’re living it today. What she found were women taking a wide variety of different approaches to their singlehood. Whether “shrinkers,” “tickers,” “freestylers,” “double-dippers,” “flamekeepers,” or others, these women were alike in that the reality of life as they’re leading it means that they’ll more than likely remain single. Some are accepting their singledom with grace and peace; others bend all their efforts to finding a man with whom to share the rest of their lives. All are struggling to maximize the joy they find in life and minimize the pain.

Mathis brings the skills of an astute veteran journalist and the passions of an attentive and articulate storyteller to uncovering the truths in single black women’s lives today. Sole Sisters is certain to ignite public debate on how and why so many black women remain single in America today, and spark discussion as to what semi-permanent singlehood means for so many women.