SINGLE LIFE
Single's
Guide
For The
8os
Bored with bars?
Discover new ideas
in the Selective
Singles
Handbook
E
43
C.0
ROBIN FREEDMAN
Jewish News Intern
ingle life is like an ice
cream cone; you have to
learn to lick it.
—Paul Seaser
Half the battle of over-
coming the lonely moments single life
sometimes presents can be won by
reading the Selective Singles Hand-
book. Advice offered in the book can
make an inactive social life a produc-
tive and rewarding one.
The book was created by Jacklyn
Rolf and Betty Scanlon, two single
women from metro Detroit. They sent
out hundreds of questionnaires to
singles organizations and to the peo-
ple that participate in them to get in-
formation on the singles scene. They
have compiled a list of clubs, support
groups, suggested readings and
helpful tips for single adults.
"We realized there was a need for
the book after we talked to people
who are ready to turn to suicide, and
are lonely and depressed. The single
people at single functions didn't want
to be there. They wanted to be
somewhere else," Rolf said.
The project began last September
after Rolf, a divorcee, and Scanlon, a
widow, left their jobs with a
publishing company to try to make it
on their own. They have already sold
900 books through mail order
requests.
The guide is divided into chapters
of organizations, clubs, support
groups and agency services for the
single community. It offers sugges-
tions for alternate entertainment on
dates and has a wide selection of ar-
ticles written by social workers and
psychologists that address the issue
of single living.
They visited hundreds of singles
groups to find out what types of ar-
tides to include in the book. They
found out that people wanted short
articles that discuss candid issues
such as AIDS, flirting, dining alone,
sex and lonliness.
"Some of the articles were written
by single people who are leading a
good, effective single life," Rolf
explained.
The target audience is adults over
21 from Oakland, Macomb and
Wayne -counties.
Rolfs experience in the singles
scene is extensive. She is co-founder
of the Bethany groups and is a troop
leader for American Youth Hostels.
Scanlon feels her experience as a
single parent helps her to understand
the needs of single adults.
"I was a minority as a young
widow and I thought my experiences
could add a lot to the book," Scanlon
said.
The women plan to update the
book once a year. They said that they
already have enough leftover informa-
tion from the first edition to start on
the first revision.
Their objective, in addition to rais-
ing their income, is to provide aid for
lonely singles.
"It's a helping tool. There are a lot
of single people who are looking for
someone to pal around with or who
have similar problems," Rolf
explained.
The entire book is sprinkled with
a potpourri of interesting quotes and
anecdotes such as "Women
recuperate faster from a break-up of
a relationship because they have
learned to turn to friends for support
and talk it out."
The women say the response so
far has been excellent. Many of the
groups have announced that their
membership has increased since the
book was published.
"We've been getting so many let-
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
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