From a celebrity author who really walks the walk, Living Alone and Loving It is at once a celebration of living alone in a society that exalts marriage and family, and a prescriptive guide that shows the reader how truly to relish a life that does not include a partner. After a relationship impasse, Barbara Feldon—universally known as the effervescent spy "99" on Get Smart —found herself living alone. Little did she know that this time would become one of the most enriching and joyous periods of her life. Now Feldon shares her secrets for living alone and loving it. Prescribing antidotes for loneliness, salves for fears, and answers for just about every question that arises in an unpartnered day, she covers both the practical and emotional aspects of the solo life, including how to: -Stop imagining that marriage is a solution for loneliness -Nurture a glowing self-image that is not dependent on an admirer -Value connections that might be overlooked -Develop your creative side -End negative thinking Whether you are blessed with the promise of youth or the wisdom of age, Living Alone & Loving It will instill the know-how to forge a life with few maps and many adventures. This breezy memoir chronicles how actress Feldon (Agent 99 from Get Smart) found herself alone after a divorce and the end of other serious relationships. Beginning to despair of ever finding happiness, she came to understand that she could be perfectly-even radiantly-happy living alone. (Indeed, she sometimes sounds a bit desperate as she hammers home her theme.) Astute and optimistic, she notes the problems inherent in regarding "single status as inferior to being married" and advocates consciously embracing the solo life so as to live life on one's own terms. Her wise words (e.g., "Stop believing that marriage is the solution to loneliness") will be useful to anyone, single or otherwise. For public libraries and the night stand, along with Wendy Burt and Erin Kindberg's lighthearted and upbeat Oh, Solo Mia!: The Hip Chick's Guide to Fun for One. Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. Dominque Browning author of Around the House and in the Garden Big-hearted, generous, charming, cheerful and wise...Barbara Feldon has mastered the art of living. Debbie Ford author of Spiritual Divorce A delightful read and a practical step-by-step guide to creating your own happiness. Barbara Feldon is an American character actress, best known for her small roles in television shows during the 1960s, including Twelve O'Clock High , Flipper , and her best known role, Agent 99 on Get Smart . She lives in New York City. What comes is not to be avoided what goes is not to be followed. -- Master Daibai living alone (freedom is hard to love) It is Saturday morning in Manhattan. I wake up today in my wallpapered room tucked over my neighbors' courtyard gardens. The spring foliage is transparent in the sun, birds chirp from the comfort of branches; all else is silent. After living alone for twenty years I'm still filled with arias of praise for the blessings of my sweet solitude. But I haven't always felt this way. We complex creatures have a baffling talent for entertaining two opposite desires at the same time. Even while I was intoxicated by the idea of merging with an imagined beloved, I got a renegade thrill from contemplating living independently, freely choosing pleasures to include and intrusions to exclude in order to allow my life to sing. "Owning myself" had the allure of an exotic perfume. As a child I would lie in bed at night listening to my parents' sleep-burdened breathing and dare myself to creep downstairs, sneak out the locked front door and sample the thrill of simply standing under the stars by myself. The anarchy of such freedom was spiritual ambrosia to a girl who rankled under the restrictions of childhood. But I wasn't yet brave enough to risk it. On our property, hidden from the view of the main house, was an old pony shed -- alas, without a pony -- with a slanted, scratchy roof onto which I would climb on summer afternoons. By escaping to my miniature sanctuary I was expressing a need for independence -- difficult to experience in the buzz of family life -- while at the same time feeling reassured that my parents were within calling distance. I continued my ambivalence about solitude though college; though I envied girls with private rooms, I was relieved by having the company of roommates. Then, after graduation, just as I was about to launch into the world on my own, I fell in love with and married Lucien. Although for many years I embraced bonded companionship enthusiastically, always there was that lingering desire to live by myself. After our marriage ended and during my second relationship, with Burt, I once playfully floated the idea to him of our living next door to each other. I was charmed by the prospect of a personal space to which I could retreat at will in unaccompanied sp