Happily Never Married addresses a broad spectrum of issues related to being happy as a single person. It is a voice for individuals who through choice, chance, or a combination of the two, have remained or become single. The "happiness" factor is revealed in part by objectively describing experiences and observations regarding relationship dynamics. The book builds upon those scenarios to spread a message of love of self, and empowerment, which lead to happiness. The motivation for writing the book was derived from a study that concluded that never-married females, over age 50, are the happiest group of individuals in American society, second only to happily married individuals. The precursor to the book, the "Happily Never Married" blog, revealed that although the subject was originally directed at these older women, the book has tremendous appeal for a broad audience that is not limited by gender, marital status, culture, or age. Furthermore, because the "singles" population is now over half of the US population, the subject is extremely timely. There are forty five essays in the book which is divided into seven sections. Essay topics include: companionship, online dating, surviving break-up heartache, children and relationships, cougars, and holiday issues. The book does not have to be read sequentially. Thus a reader can choose a topic, read it, and skip around in the book to another topic.
About the Author: Dr. Kendra L. Harris is a marketing professor at Alabama A&M University in Huntsville, AL. Prior to her career in higher education, she worked in the area of sales and marketing in private industry. Originally from Washington, DC she is the youngest of five siblings and is the only girl. Her parents were married for 68 years and all of her brothers have been married. She has been "officially" engaged, once. Her book, Happily Never Married, started as a blog under the same name. The blog was initially created to be a voice for individuals who through choice, chance, or a combination of the two, have remained or become single. Her creation of the blog was motivated by a "happiness" study that espoused that never-married females, over age 50, are the happiest group of individuals in American society, second only to "happily" married individuals. Upon hearing that data, she immediately felt vindicated with respect to getting others to understand that her life as a never-married, older female is quite fulfilling. Over six years ago (the point at which she first heard the happiness study) she started journaling about the circumstances that have been a source of her remaining single. Three years ago, she transformed the journal narrative into a blog. Her experience with the blog made it apparent to her that its content resonated with individuals irrespective of marital status, age, culture, or gender. She gained a lot of exposure for the blog through a variety of mediums. She was a featured performer on two different programs for writers and artists. She was a guest on Howard University's WHUR radio segment, "The Daily Drum," in Washington, DC, during evening drive time, and she was featured on two other radio stations in the Washington, DC and Baltimore, MD areas. After gaining growing traction with the blog, she decided to write the book. Like the blog, the book addresses a broad spectrum of issues related to being happy as a single person. There are forty five essays in the book which is broken into seven sections. Essay topics include: companionship, online dating, surviving break-up heartache, children and relationships, cougars, and holiday issues. The book does not have to be read sequentially. Thus a reader can choose a topic, read it, and skip around in the book to another topic. Once she announced that she was working on the book, she was consistently asked about its completion date.