Clements is not alarmed by changes in the family structure. The single moth- er of a 4-year-old son, she argues that "change is not an attack on the family; it is part of its evolution and survival," an adaptation that reflects a new woman who is economically and emotionally empowered. And while her book is devoid of anger, she caustically remarks, "Maybe the leaders of the future will choose to direct more energy toward preventing hunger and war rather than waste it stigmatiz- ing every conceivable kind of unwed mother. Clements' curiosity about her new comfort level as a single woman sent her on a search for soul mates. Her book is filled with interviews, several spanning two or three different stages in her subjects' lives. They candidly express disappointment and disenchantment with married life, but there also is satisfaction in raising the children their marriages produced. They describe envy from peers, who often perceive their single lives as glamorous and successful. Several feel bitter that their single status makes them designated caregivers for elderly parents, and many feel ostracized when they are excluded from friends' dinner parties. And while there are references to loneliness and depression, single life, they say, has its compensations: inde- pendence, opportunities for growth and a delicious solitude. "Beyond loneliness there's the possibility of a rich interior life," notes Clements. What she wonders is why single women as a body have not become more political, assum- ing the role of activists. She exhorts women to change the stereotypes: "the desic- cated spinster; the silly widow; the bitter witch; the sacrificing, suffering mother; the grotesque coquette, etc., and, together, cre- ate a political force, one that can address inequality in earnings and economic and social problems of the elderly. She feels single women, seeing how much they have in common, could forge a new constituency. Above all, what Clements hopes to do is provide comfort in singlehood. She recognizes it as uncharted territory but relishes its exploration. "When it comes to love, sex and status," she concludes, "nothing's ever all said or all done." But single women like Clements are successfully improvising, discovering "a vastness of potential" for personal enrichment. seem inclined to avail themselves of fer- tility technology for motherhood. "Jewish women who have earned their independence feel they have also earned the right to have a child," she suggests, and observes that they embark upon this journey with verve and humor. She alludes to one Jewish subject who requested "the tallest Jewish sperm donor you can find." Clements, who married a Quaker classmate during her college years, retained his name following their divorce; her maiden name was Kleinwecksler. Four years ago, she adopted Luc Leon. She acknowledges there is still some bias against single-parent adop- dons. But in her book she questions whether it is better to have a child in foster care or in an institution when the option of living with "a generous, caring woman who offers a wonderful home and a wonderful future and wants to be his mom" exists. Having a child has made Clements more aware of her own heritage. "Luc thinks he is a French Jew," she says of her bilingual child, and last summer he attended a Jewish day camp. She laughs that when it comes to Luc, she is consid- erably more frantic than she used to be. "As someone said, 'Motherhood is worrying.'" Judaism also is influencing her writing. She included a Jewish character in a new novel because "I wanted a Jewish voice." Clements is euphoric that response to her book has been mostly positive. She is convinced a new identity has emerged for single women, which is beyond feminism: "The feminist para- digm had to do with the two-person relationship; everything outside of that frame was a free-for-all." 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