The Last Single Woman in America

Love is never an easy thing to come by. Especially when you are living in LA, where men are suddenly the new women.

Cindy Guidry's The Last Single Woman in America, explores the trials and tribulations of the dating world, and of the world in general.

After getting "fired" from her job, but forbidden to use the dreaded "f" word, Cindy decides to use this to her advantage to define herself. Instead of frantically sending resumes out to all the companies in Cali, like her friend Dylan, she parties at night and indulges in arts and crafts by day.

Cindy wonders if there is any man out there for her. She was raised with the statement "anything you can do I can do better" when it comes to men and women. Now that women are being taught to take care of themselves in the real world, are men even needed anymore? Maybe in Never Never Land...

She meets a really handsome, dirty Viking with a small case of obsessive compulsive disorder. After he gets into a motorcycle accident and injures his leg, Cindy decides to play nurse. But their time together turns sour when the Viking's OCD kicks into high gear, and Cindy bolts out of his place.

When at a bar in Beverly Hills with her friend Donna, Cindy meets The Greek. He actually asks for her phone number, and she finds herself on her first actual date in years.

The Greek was insulted that she didn't want him to pick her up on their first date. He also couldn't believe she asked him what he did for a living. Cindy, being the persistent woman that she is, urged him to talk about himself. At the end of the awkward night, she was presented a videotape of a movie The Greek had written and directed, hoping that she would know the right people to put it on the big screen.

She's been on plenty of dates and has had plenty of boyfriends, but lots of her friends are getting married and having babies, now. And where does that leave her?

With a pesky, irritable feline she's forced to take to the LA Cat Whisperer, a nosy in-your-face neighbor who tells her everything she doesn't want to hear about herself, and a lucky leprechaun for a brother, Cindy feels worse and worse about finding "the one" in her less-than-perfect life.

The Last Single Woman in America is a fiesty collection of essays written by a woman who says what everyone only thinks. Guidry's raw stories leave readers with something to ponder, relate to, and laugh along with. Find out what it's like to be the last single woman in America.

Eat, Pray, Love

Imagine that your whole world is tumbling down. Despite your happy home, happy husband, and happy job, you're completely depressed and distraught. Nothing makes you cheery, and no matter how your day turns out, you're always stuck on the bathroom floor, crying by nighttime. Try as you might, your life doesn't get any happier, neither does your love life. Soon, your husband becomes your ex-husband, you quit your job, and you set out on a journey of self-discovery.

Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love tells this exact story. In her early thirties, Liz leaves everything behind to find herself again in Italy, India, and Indonesia.

First, Liz sets out to live in Italy for four months. She always longed to learn the beautiful Italian language, and what better way to learn than to live there. During her first night in Europe she waits for the tears to come at night, but they never do. She wonders if this was all she needed all along.

With classes at the Leonardo da Vinci Academy of Language Studies, Liz meets many more travelers who have all left their lives to learn the smooth, exquisite Italian language just like her. Although she isn't the most expert traveler in the world, she sure knows how to eat delicious food and make new friends, and that's just what she does in Italy.

Next, she's off to spend four months in an Ashram in India. After discovering the magic of gurus, Liz wants to be more like them and find enlightenment through meditation and prayer. Soon she finds that this is easier said than done.

In order to meditate, one must sit completely still in a dark cave for an hour. Liz, being the busy-body that she is, simply can't do such a motionless task. On top of that, all the seekers of enlightenment must first recite a song that has one too many verses in it. This has to be done every day before meditation, which Liz can't stand, so she lets her mind wander instead.

On the bright side, she's lost all the weight she gained in Italy, since everyone in India eats healthy, light vegetables. While she rides her journey towards enlightenment like a roller coaster, Liz wonders if she'll ever be able to reach God.

Finally, the last stop takes her to live in Indonesia where she hopes to take in some wisdom from the medicine man, Ketut Liyer, and to find balance. She spends her mornings in meditation, her afternoons with Ketut, and her evenings just relaxing in the little cottage she found for herself out in the country.

This is the first time on her journey that she actually allows herself to relax and enjoy the beautiful scenery around her. She ends up meeting Wayan, a Balinese healer, who becomes her best friend in Indonesia. They talk about all kinds of things, including love. Through a friend of Wayan's, Liz is introduced to the lovely Brazilian Felipe.

Eat, Pray, Love is a most ingenious autobiography full of humor, wit, and self-healing. This creatively written book is truly inspiring and describes an incredible journey of rediscovering one's true self. Through lots of eating, praying, and loving, Liz Gilbert finds exactly what she was looking for all along.