Jane Juska

"Round-heeled" is an old-fashioned label for a woman who is promiscuous--someone who nowadays might be called "easy." It's a surprising way for a cultured English teacher with a passion for the novels of Anthony Trollope to describe herself, but then that's just the first of many surprises to be found in this poignant, funny, utterly unique memoir. Jane Juska is a smart, energetic divorc e who decided she'd been celibate too long, and placed the following personal ad in her favorite newspaper, The New York Review of Books: Before I turn 67--next March--I would like to have a lot of sex with a man I like. If you want to talk first, Trollope works for me. This closing reference was a nod to her favorite author, of course. The response was overwhelming, and Juska took a sabbatical from teaching to meet some of the men who had replied. And since her ad made it clear that she wasn't expecting just hand-holding, her dates zipped from first base to home plate in record time. Juska is a totally engaging, perceptive writer, funny and frank about her exploits. It's high time someone revealed the fact that older single people are as eager for sex and intimacy as their younger counterparts. Jane Juska's brave, honest memoir will probably raise eyebrows and blood pressure, but it will undoubtedly appeal to the very large audience of grown-up readers who will be fascinated and inspired by her daring adventure.

"If Jane Austen had been allowed to write about sex, I'd like to think this is how she would have done it."--Rebecca Makkai, author of The Hundred-Year HouseAn audaciously entertaining look at love, marriage, and the beloved Bennet family from Pride and Prejudice, as you've never seen them before . . . It is a truth universally acknowledged that every man in possession of a wife must be in want of a son. 1785 was to be the most marvelous year of Marianne's life, until an unfortunate turn of events left her in a compromised state and desperate for a husband to care--or rather cover--for her. Now, she is stuck in an undesirable marriage to Mr. Edward Bennet, a man desperate in his own way for a male heir. But as she is still carrying a smoldering desire for the handsome Colonel Miller, Mrs. Bennet must constantly find new, clever ways to avoid her husband's lascivious advances until she is once again reunited with her dashing Colonel. Except that the best-laid plans of a woman in good standing can so often go awry, especially when her contrary husband has plans and desires of his own . . .

"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 fans: 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.

'Before I turn 67 - next March - I would like to have a lot of sex with a man I like. If you want to talk first, Trollope works for me.' - Small ad in the New York Review of BooksJane Juska placed her ad in the New York Times and the response was overwhelming.