" And despite growing up in an era when the centuries-old mantra to get married young was finally (and, it seemed, refreshingly) replaced by encouragement to postpone that milestone in pursuit of high ideals (education! career! but also true love!), every woman I know—no matter how successful and ambitious, how financially and emotionally secure—feels panic, occasionally coupled with desperation, if she hits 30 and finds herself unmarried."

"Gottlieb's husband-fixation is tragic not just because she is trying to foist it on all other single women, but because it leaves her oblivious to, and unappreciative of, some of the most important relationships in life.

Wouldn't the person she calls a close friend, a fellow single mom who had her child in the same way that Gottlieb did, be willing to play with the kids for 20 minutes so Gottlieb could eat lunch? And considering the significant experiences that the two women shared, weren't they, in a way, partners who knew one another's day-to-day trivia?
In 2000, a pair of scholars reviewed 286 studies to find out what predicts feelings of well-being in later life. One answer? Spending time with friends."

" I would say even if he’s not the love of your life, make sure he’s someone you respect intellectually, makes you laugh, appreciates you … I bet there are plenty of these men in the older, overweight, and bald category (which they all eventually become anyway)."