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Unaccompanied Women: Late-Life Adventures in Love, Sex, and Real Estate
“Before I turn 67, I would like to have a lot of sex with a man I like.” This inspired personal ad from Jane Juska drew tremendous response and swept the retired teacher into a whirlwind existence she barely recognized as her own. She relayed her fun and frank exploits in the bestseller A Round-Heeled Woman. Now Juska continues her astonishing story in this much anticipated new adventure.
Five years after that fateful ad, Juska has become a friend and confessor for women of all ages who confide in her their poignant, tragic, or blissful stories– unaccompanied women who are alone for now, but ever searching for intimacy. And in spite of Juska’s own success, “unaccompanied” is a description that applies to her as well. She’s still looking for a man to keep her company–not a husband, not even a partner, but simply the perfect lover, once described by Katharine Hepburn as one who “lives nearby and visits often.”
Unaccompanied Women embraces not only Juska’s continuing explorations of Eros (note to her younger lover, Graham, is still on the scene) but also a blossoming literary career that catapults her from San Francisco to New York, London, and Paris. At book signings, earnest men place themselves purposely at the end of the line in order to engage her in private conversations, while women linger to confess their own erotic longings and their experiences with the good, the bad, and even the ugly. All the while, Juska is coping with the unnerving possibility of losing her home, a tiny cottage in Berkeley, California–and so her search broadens and intensifies, not just for love, friendship, and sex but also for enough money to keep a roof over her head.
Jane Juska shares all this richness of living in a poignant and humorous exploration of emotional terrain rarely discussed in our society. This wise and warmhearted book provides vivid evidence that the pursuit of pleasure and lasting relationships is not just for the young, but also for the young at heart.
Five years after that fateful ad, Juska has become a friend and confessor for women of all ages who confide in her their poignant, tragic, or blissful stories– unaccompanied women who are alone for now, but ever searching for intimacy. And in spite of Juska’s own success, “unaccompanied” is a description that applies to her as well. She’s still looking for a man to keep her company–not a husband, not even a partner, but simply the perfect lover, once described by Katharine Hepburn as one who “lives nearby and visits often.”
Unaccompanied Women embraces not only Juska’s continuing explorations of Eros (note to her younger lover, Graham, is still on the scene) but also a blossoming literary career that catapults her from San Francisco to New York, London, and Paris. At book signings, earnest men place themselves purposely at the end of the line in order to engage her in private conversations, while women linger to confess their own erotic longings and their experiences with the good, the bad, and even the ugly. All the while, Juska is coping with the unnerving possibility of losing her home, a tiny cottage in Berkeley, California–and so her search broadens and intensifies, not just for love, friendship, and sex but also for enough money to keep a roof over her head.
Jane Juska shares all this richness of living in a poignant and humorous exploration of emotional terrain rarely discussed in our society. This wise and warmhearted book provides vivid evidence that the pursuit of pleasure and lasting relationships is not just for the young, but also for the young at heart.
272 pages, Paperback
First published May 2, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
September 14, 2008
This was a very mournful read because life doesn't always go as we wish it to. Jane Juska is a very skilled writer, but it is not so much her story she relates in this book as the story of those who have read her book and reached out to tell her theirs, whether at book-signings, through letters, or eerily by searching out her unlisted number. She is sometimes so wise and it breaks my heart to read what she has learned, but other times, I am just as appalled by her naivety, her refusal to see how she has created the life she bemoans and occasionally wants us to believe she accepts.
There are too many lines I want to quote, but here are two:
"I believe that the deprivation of 'selfish sensations' in the name of religion is responsible for most of the upheaval that has been a sordid part of human history" (p. 12).
"Naming things and people may be necessary for efficiency's sake, but at the same time naming them tends to limit understanding as well as behavior. Which is why a lot of things get named" (p. 42).
And one she cites by. A.E. Housman: "Our business here is not to live, but to live happily . . . We must make up our minds to risk something."
If you can read one and only one chapter in this book, let it be chapter 14, about her experience meeting an Iranian expat and her circle of fellow exiles. It's a jewel.
There are too many lines I want to quote, but here are two:
"I believe that the deprivation of 'selfish sensations' in the name of religion is responsible for most of the upheaval that has been a sordid part of human history" (p. 12).
"Naming things and people may be necessary for efficiency's sake, but at the same time naming them tends to limit understanding as well as behavior. Which is why a lot of things get named" (p. 42).
And one she cites by. A.E. Housman: "Our business here is not to live, but to live happily . . . We must make up our minds to risk something."
If you can read one and only one chapter in this book, let it be chapter 14, about her experience meeting an Iranian expat and her circle of fellow exiles. It's a jewel.
November 27, 2016
True rating is 4.5 . Not to be missed.
I loved the book, I devoured it! Yes! older women do still have an active libido, perish the thought.\What a wonderful warm, wise, funny book. June Juska has written honestly relating the events before, during and after placing her personal ad in the New York Review, candidly stating "before I turn 67 I would like to have sex with a man I like. If you want to talk first, Trollope works for me".
Her first book 'A Round Heeled Woman' relates how her her bold, brave request changes her life. In this second book , written at age 72, she continues her search for love, friendship, sex and by no means least: a roof over her head. Along the way she shares stories from readers of her first book - powerful, sad, happy, touching stories from the older generation. Her book is the real deal - not romantic slush, not womens' magazine motivational: it's about real life with real people . Read it: you might identify yourself amongst the pages!
I loved the book, I devoured it! Yes! older women do still have an active libido, perish the thought.\What a wonderful warm, wise, funny book. June Juska has written honestly relating the events before, during and after placing her personal ad in the New York Review, candidly stating "before I turn 67 I would like to have sex with a man I like. If you want to talk first, Trollope works for me".
Her first book 'A Round Heeled Woman' relates how her her bold, brave request changes her life. In this second book , written at age 72, she continues her search for love, friendship, sex and by no means least: a roof over her head. Along the way she shares stories from readers of her first book - powerful, sad, happy, touching stories from the older generation. Her book is the real deal - not romantic slush, not womens' magazine motivational: it's about real life with real people . Read it: you might identify yourself amongst the pages!
August 27, 2008
I bought Jane Juska's memoir so long ago that, although the Waterstone's receipt was still stuck in the front cover, everything but the company name had faded away (I hate when that happens; how much better would that money have been in *my* bank account!).
Anyway, I finally started reading it and, after three chapters, loved it so much that I had to put it to one side so I could take it away with me. I loved Jane Juska's voice - wry, self-deprecating, honest - and I was desperate to read more about her
To read the rest of this review, please visit Trashionista
Anyway, I finally started reading it and, after three chapters, loved it so much that I had to put it to one side so I could take it away with me. I loved Jane Juska's voice - wry, self-deprecating, honest - and I was desperate to read more about her
To read the rest of this review, please visit Trashionista
May 10, 2007
This is the second book by Jane Juska. It picks up where her first book, "A Round-Heeled Woman" left off. Juska writes a lot about her readers' reactions to the first book. I think I enjoyed this sequel even more than the first. Although some reviews thought the author was a bit whiney, I found her honesty about life's disappointments very relevant to her story. It was nice reading "the next chapter" in Juska's life.
April 30, 2008
Okay, I liked the 1st one-"The Round-heeled Woman" best. This was okay, more a work of feelings than on any actions. I surely hope she doesn't get kicked out of her home, maybe finds another nice home to own, maybe finds a nice local man who is intelligent, witty, handsome and makes or has some money. At 71, Jane, can it be done? I hope to stay positive too, until the next installment.
May 23, 2010
Jane writes about what it's like to be an older single woman today. She's frank, thoughtful, and self-aware.
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June 6, 2008Juska writes mainly about yearning and about reading, but I guess that wouldn't have made a foxy enough subtitle for her publisher's marketing department. I picked this one up because I'd read and liked her previous memoir, Round-Heeled Woman, about resuming dating in her late sixties after thirty years of ceilbacy. Once again I appreciated her frankness and humor and her deep curiosity about people, and once again I found myself gripping my head over how easily seduced she is by written correspondence, especially email. Stop, Jane! Think! She's a writer, so I wanted her to recognize craft and invention for what they are, but I think she just enjoys it so much (both being seduced by prose, and being the passionate and erudite self she presents in her side of a correspondence).
September 24, 2008
I want to like this book more, but the author is not that sympathetic. Maybe if I'd read the first book. This one has an aren't-I-wonderful tone that just sounds dorky to me, and worse, as she describes losing a friend she disappoints for a younger boyfriend, and then, saying the friend's died of cancer, wonders who got her expensive house. She probably meant it to sound cute, but it sounded exactly like a shallow person having a second childhood, fearing death, regretting not having lived -- three lovers in 67 years?? A shallow man writing this wouldn't sound cute. He'd sound like an old coot who's really proud of himself for discovering what the rest of the world knew all along. Hm. Slightly grating and a lot of complaining about how hard it is to find a good man.
June 16, 2010
Better than her first book. Could have used some more editing. Appreciated her honesty, although I occasionally found her unsympathetic. Was she being sarcastic when reminiscing about her younger years, and complaining about having to work during a summer to help pay to be sent to Europe for 6 months after graduation? Um, you went to Europe for 6 months--what's to complain about? Also, I was a bit shocked she asked a wealthy man she didn't even seem to like that much to buy her a house. I'm a renter in Berkeley as well, and I understand the stress of feeling you can be tossed out on your ass, but still! And maybe I'm just from a different generation, but the idea of sex in your 60s or 70s in just not that shocking to me, as it seemed to be to many readers of Juska's earlier book.
June 19, 2008
This is a sequel to the Well-Rounded Woman, where a seventy year old woman talks frankly about rediscovering her sexuality in the December period of life - she only had 3 lovers before the age of 67 - poor cow! I don't know why it is revolutionary to have sex at seventy and be single but apparently a lot of Americans thought that was totally wild and crazy! and this book became controversial will religious nuts etc. It is a lively read but also a bit depressing because the woman says she more or less hates her body and always jumps under the sheets when she has sex. I was hoping she'd be more empowered!
June 17, 2009
not terrible, but not nearly as interesting as The Round-Heeled Woman. it's almost like she was writing a journal and rambling along with her thoughts. And her editor said, "come on, let's publish. people loved the first one, so keep on writing the same stuff and we'll see how long they will buy it." i do like the slant she puts on sex in the seventies------nobody wants to hear about it because it's physically disgusting, but hey----that's life, so get used to it! Are older people supposed to pretend they have no sexual feelings just because their bodies are not aesthetically pleasing? IF that were the rule, then nobody but movie stars and models should be having sex.
November 14, 2007
This is the sequel to _A Round-Heeled Woman_. This is far more philosophical and a reflection on her readers' feedback and the situation that many single, older women encounter. Again there is plenty of discussion about acceptance of the body and beauty norms.
I think I expected more of an adventure tale, something akin to her first book, but Juska is honest about her need to take a break and to heal from the experience with Graham, a man thirty-some years her junior. Her honest account of their bittersweet afterward is painful and beautiful - I could entirely relate.
I think I expected more of an adventure tale, something akin to her first book, but Juska is honest about her need to take a break and to heal from the experience with Graham, a man thirty-some years her junior. Her honest account of their bittersweet afterward is painful and beautiful - I could entirely relate.
September 13, 2007
Erudite, amusing follow-up to A Round-Heeled Woman: My Late-Life Adventures in Sex and Romance, which I had never heard of but will read next. Nicely done memoir about the consequences of writing a book about the results of one's personal ad (placed at age 66). Honest without being overly confessional and modest without being coy, this book is a welcome contribution to the canon of works by mature women.
November 8, 2013
This book and its predecessor should be required reading for Miley Cyrus who recently opined that sexuality ceases at 40, assuming, that is that Ms. Cyrus reads. Of course, being in my mid-70s (and male) probably gives me a different perspective from the many younger female reviewers who found Ms. Juska's activities appalling.
June 7, 2012
This book may not be for everyone. I'm sure there are faults in the writing as there are admittedly in the author. For whatever reason, I have a fierce love for Jane Juska and Diana Athill and jump at the chance to read anything they write.
February 13, 2008
less compelling than her first book, round heeled woman, this sequel was still a welcome continuation of jane juska's life story.
November 26, 2022
This is the follow up to A Round Heeled Woman. It addresses issues, reactions and ideas that came from the first book, and reader reaction to the first book. There are a lot of other women's stories in here, and also a look at how certain cultures minimise and limit women entering into the world. As well Juska is dealing with inflationary house prices that affect her renting situation. It is a truism that divorced women have far less less money to go into retirement than other women.
She reflects on what she has learnt about people from her experiences in the first book and also a lot about what she learnt about herself. she discusses how govts and bureaucracies penalise women for either being single or for entering relationships when retired. You have no personal privacy. Juska looks at what older men and women want from relationships and they are mostly completely different views. One needs to be loved, the other wants his socks washed.
This is a grown up, considered and interesting discussion about what really happens when women grow old. And it is sad a lot of the time.
She reflects on what she has learnt about people from her experiences in the first book and also a lot about what she learnt about herself. she discusses how govts and bureaucracies penalise women for either being single or for entering relationships when retired. You have no personal privacy. Juska looks at what older men and women want from relationships and they are mostly completely different views. One needs to be loved, the other wants his socks washed.
This is a grown up, considered and interesting discussion about what really happens when women grow old. And it is sad a lot of the time.
July 14, 2021
This is a sequel to her memoir Round-Heeled Woman, and she picks up where she left off. If you enjoyed her first book, you will likely appreciate this too. This one has the added bonus of hearing the stories of many of the people she met after her book was published and people contacted her out of the blue or talked to her at book-readings and book-signings. I especially liked the stories of the Iranian women in Chapter 15 titled "Oh Dear, what can the matter be?", the woman who rides the motorcycle in Chapter 20 titled "The young one", and the story of Emily and Alan in Chapter 23 titled "Staying in Touch".
As she travels to promote her book and have new adventures, she also searches for a home to own, and does a life review of her gains and losses over time. She is a woman of her particular generation and it was interesting to hear her perspective on life....
As she travels to promote her book and have new adventures, she also searches for a home to own, and does a life review of her gains and losses over time. She is a woman of her particular generation and it was interesting to hear her perspective on life....
January 28, 2018
Not as thrilling as the first so merely 'liked' it but still a good read for the humour and honesty.
I really relate to her books/story as I'm a woman in her 60's who was also celibate for years and also has money issues (thanks to HMG for deferring the pension that I've paid 40 years of tax and NI for....).
Finding a lover is not easy - older men (particularly outside London) are quite often woefully unattractive due to their old fashioned attititudes and proudly declaring themselves a 'mog' (miserable old git) or 'gom' (grumpy old man). Not to mention unfit and ignorant.
Younger men are often more open minded and simply fun both in and out of bed. And they have tattoos beards and condoms ready! (And yes my pic is 10 years out of date)
I really relate to her books/story as I'm a woman in her 60's who was also celibate for years and also has money issues (thanks to HMG for deferring the pension that I've paid 40 years of tax and NI for....).
Finding a lover is not easy - older men (particularly outside London) are quite often woefully unattractive due to their old fashioned attititudes and proudly declaring themselves a 'mog' (miserable old git) or 'gom' (grumpy old man). Not to mention unfit and ignorant.
Younger men are often more open minded and simply fun both in and out of bed. And they have tattoos beards and condoms ready! (And yes my pic is 10 years out of date)
February 9, 2024
Having read Jane Juska's wonderful 'Round-Heeled Woman'- some years ago, I discovered (rather late in the day) that she wrote a sequel to her book of late-life sexual adventures. Her follow-up is every bit as entertaining as Jane tells us w hat happened next - after becoming an unexpected 'sexpert' on senior liaisons and minor media celebrity. Jane is an excellent writer: funny, acerbic, self-deprecating and wise. Readers of her first book will love taking up her story again as she continues searching for love and sex (not necessarily together) after crossing into her 70s. Sadly, I have read that Jane died some years ago in her late 80s and I do hope she eventually found the companionship she longed for - or finally abandoned the search and just enjoyed her life.
June 22, 2018
A great memoir, I enjoyed it and even read her other book.
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July 26, 2022If you'd like to know what I thought of this book, please contact me directly and I'd be happy to discuss it with you.
All the best,
- TB
All the best,
- TB
August 29, 2022
Felt pessimistic and sad. I give this author credit for her honesty.
January 12, 2026
Her original book, Round-heeled woman, was better.
December 6, 2009
This second book was much more fun to read than the first one. I actually read this one first and then went in search of her first book but was disappointed. I should have stuck to this one only. This book is a reflection of thoughts, learning and self development post a late life sex spree. A recommended read for woman in their midlife and certainly encouraging for those of us who feel out bodies are no longer interesting and inviting to men. It made me accept certain things I was hoping would go away or not become a reality.
July 6, 2010
Man, what a disappointment. I loved Juska's first book, as it was very well-written, but this one meanders all over the place. And there isn't even any real estate; just some musings on how she wishes she could buy a house but can't afford one.
A book about real estate will have descriptions of homes! Discussion about prices! Multiple open house attendings!
None of that exists in this book, which mostly just randomly describes stuff that happened to her after her first book came out (spoiler: not much).
A book about real estate will have descriptions of homes! Discussion about prices! Multiple open house attendings!
None of that exists in this book, which mostly just randomly describes stuff that happened to her after her first book came out (spoiler: not much).
February 16, 2012
Boo. I rushed to buy this book without reading its reviews, just because I loved its precursor. But, as often happens with sequels, this book offered nothing new. The main, interesting story was already told in the first book, and instead the author finds herself whining about not finding love and about not having enough money to buy herself a house. Not worth reading. I still gave this book two stars simply because I like the way the author writes, in a self-deprecating humorous style, but if I were to judge solely on content, one star would do it better justice.
September 26, 2014
I just couldn't get passed the "Have sex or die" philosophy of this woman. But some how I made it through the book. Sometimes we want and plan and fight for what we want, but life fights us back. Then the doors won't allow us to get what we want for what ever reason. But don't cry about it, pull up your big girl panties and move on. Gee sh nympho needs sex even at her age. The rest of us take up interesting hobbies and get over it.
January 2, 2016
My friend said not to bother with this, but I wanted to make up my own mind - I should've listened - it was boring and nothing happened, she talks a lot about her previous book (which I haven't read) and hankers after a man 40 years her junior.
July 5, 2012
I saw this book at Chapters in the new release section and it sounded interesting. And it was. It was interesting to read the day-to-day accounts of a woman almost 30 years older than I am who is still looking for love.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews