Or you can just exist in sullen loneliness, feeling sorry for yourself and arousing no feeling whatever in anybody else.Īcross twelve short chapters, Hillis guides her readers through all they need to know about living alone in style and, most entertainingly, illustrates each chapter with case studies of women who have either excelled or failed miserably.

You can live alone gaily, graciously, ostentatiously, dully, stolidly. There are joys to living alone, you just need to be intelligent enough to see them and it is this core message that remains absolutely true today: whatever your circumstances, it is up to you to turn them into something you like: They can live graciously without having to be at another’s beck and call! They can have true independence, to do what they like when they like it! They can devote themselves to their passions – and Hillis is a great believer in having these – without inconveniencing anyone else! They can nurture interesting groups of friends, be part of the social whirlwind, and retire to perfect peace when they want it at home. Hillis tries to make her readers see the opportunities they have. This is what I love most about Hillis: she is funny and practical but most of all she is frank. This point of view has been experienced by every individual the world over at one time or another, except perhaps those who will experience it next year. It is a good idea, first of all, to get over the notion (if you have it) that your particular situation is a little bit worse than anyone else’s. You are inconvenient but, in this, you are not special: Yes, you may not be wanted at dinner parties or bridge games without a partner. Yes, you will be an inconvenience to your married friends without a man. Hillis knew her audience: some were young women excitedly starting careers and still anticipating romantic resolutions but many were older, tired, sometimes widowed or divorced, and unsettled in a society that took it for granted that a woman needed a man to have a “full” life. It is easy to be swept away by her energy and conviction and there are worse people to be led by – the better part of a century later her advice is still largely applicable and deeply sensible. Written for “extra women” everywhere – but primarily appropriate for New Yorkers, or widows and stenographers across America longing to think of themselves as cosmopolitan New Yorkers – Hillis confidently guides her flock towards achieving enjoyable, fulfilling lives. Though the independent woman wasn’t yet a norm in 1936, there were certainly more of them than ever before and so the success that year of Live Alone and Like It by Marjorie Hillis should be no surprise.

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