4th Estate
An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers
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London SE1 9GF
This eBook first published in Great Britain by 4th Estate in 2016
Copyright © Stella Grey 2016
Stella Grey asserts the moral right to
be identified as the author of this work
A catalogue record for this book is
available from the British Library
Cover photograph © Getty Images / Felicity McCabe; Design by Anna Morrison
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.
Source ISBN: 9780008201739
Ebook Edition © September 2016 ISBN: 9780008201746
Version: 2017-04-13
Contents
Trying to Write the Right Profile
Fundamental Ironies of the Game
COMMENTS RECEIVED VIA TWITTER, WHILE THE COLUMN WAS RUNNING IN THE GUARDIAN
From @RebNew1: It’s been a relief knowing it’s not just me who’s gone through these scenarios.
From @carolineratner: I recently suggested a newly single friend read you from the beginning so she knew what to expect from dating.
From @CharleneWhite, ITV news anchor: This has been one of my fav regular weekend reads. Love it. Thanks for sharing.
From @patriciajrogers: Thank you for all those weeks of laughing, wincing and nodding knowingly to your column. Parallel experiences start to end.
From @caracourage: You’ve written words I’ve taken to heart, on the self in dating.
From @gnasherwell: Your column/twitter has made me feel normal.
From @catherineaman1: I feel like you’ve gone with me into the maelstrom, as an entertaining & kind companion.
From @theflossietp: Sad your column is ending, but at least it won’t feel like you’ve been reading my journal any more!
From @Newhall70: I can relate to so much of this. #stillsearching
From @helwels: Thanks for the reassurance that all the idiots weren’t ‘just me’.
From @missinformed11: As a woman of a similar age in a similar situation, the IT’S NOT JUST ME Factor was huge!
From @accentdialectuk: I’ve grown to feel just as ritual-adoring with your column as some people feel about The Archers.
From @adrianalemus: Even as a 20-something I could identify. Stella Grey might not be a typical heroine, but the wit, honesty, and her self-awareness of her own attributes and flaws made me see a woman to aspire to be, in her.
From @NesreenMSalem: I’ve had to resort to writing satires to make sense of the absurdity of my experience. Yours were less crazy & made me realise that I’m probably not doing it right …
From @SarahABGee: I suspect that many (most?) of us could share similar tales … you were never alone.
From @dellvink: I hope you get a movie rights offer. It would be great. A grown up UK romcom.
THERE WERE ALSO MEN WHO COULD RELATE
From @nickodyson: Highly recommended for the romantically inclined, and believers in hope.
From @GervaseWebb: I loved the final column. It should be printed out and given to everyone; male or female, over 50 or under.
Outlandish though