4 out of 4 stars
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Becky Andersen’s We’re Not Sixteen Anymore: A Baby Boomer’s Adventures with Online Dating is a witty non-fiction book that can be categorized in the humor and self-help/relationships genres. It explores the author’s experiences when she dips her toe into cyber-dating. Meeting men online takes getting used to as Becky is fairly computer illiterate and hasn’t dated since the first astronauts stepped on the moon. As you can imagine, dating in your sixties carries its own set of challenges - wrinkles, sagging skin, no longer having a youthful figure, and, of course, being out of practice.
Right before she turns sixty-one, Becky decides to turn to the internet to meet men. It doesn’t hurt that one of her daughters already set up a dating website account on her behalf. It’s been a few years since Becky’s husband passed away and even her eighty-year-old mother tells her that she should start finding “friends” (translation: men).
The central theme takes a little while to get going. In the beginning of the story, the author reminisces about growing up in Iowa in the 1950’s and 1960’s, marrying her high school sweetheart at age twenty, and the fashion and beauty trends that were popular back then. Once Becky completes her profile on a dating site, the book becomes more absorbing.
I enjoyed this humorous account of a woman at a crossroads in her life. The author writes in a casual, conversational style that feels as if she is having coffee with an old friend. In most cases, each chapter focuses on a particular first date or follow-up date. There are also a few prospective suitors who seem promising during online chats, but an actual meeting fizzles out.
The author’s feelings about meeting men later in life are realistically written. Becky doesn’t want to waste time on men she doesn’t feel a romantic spark with. Still, she approaches the cyber-dating process with poise and a positive attitude.
My main gripe is there is hardly any mention of the author’s late husband. There is a brief backstory early in the story of how the couple met and then a tie-in during a later scene on a picnic date with an internet suitor. Since she had been married almost forty years, I thought there would have been more introspection about the difficulties of moving on and dating anyone. Instead, the story is light and breezy, with mostly funny vignettes about the different men she meets.
I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. It is a quick, interesting read that can be read in a day or two. I would recommend the story to readers who enjoy humorous memoirs and stories about dating in the age of technology.
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We're Not Sixteen Anymore
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