Welcome to Literary Mama Rewind! Every few weeks we'll round up some of our favorite essays, stories, poems, columns, and reviews from the Literary Mama archives relating to a particular theme. It's the month to fall in love again. So we've collected some stories from the archives about dating, romance, and the loves of our lives.
- My Mustard Valentine by Susan Ito from the Column Life in the Sandwich
He's the only man in a houseful of women, and I can't help thinking that must be disorienting and lonely. Sometimes, when I'm cuddled on the guest room bed between daughters, watching Gilmore Girls or a goofy romantic comedy, he opens the door, takes a wild-eyed glance at the television screen, and retreats.
- A Most Unusual Valentine by Rebecca Kaminsky from the Column Down Will Come Baby
Today is Valentine's Day. I know it's cheesy, but Jack and I are going out and I want to look nice. But none of my old clothes fit. I'm premenstrual and these days that means I look ugly.
- Surviving that First Date Night by Marjorie Osterhout from the Column Dear Marjo
Dear Marjo, My husband and I haven’t had a Date Night since our baby was born, about six months ago. I'm okay with that; in fact, Date Night is the last thing I want to do right now. But it's the first thing my husband wants to do. (You can guess what's second.)
- Condensation Hearts by Brittany Fonte in Fiction
There had been time to tell my edited widower's tale; women seem to be drawn to it like they are not drawn to me in my best 'daddy wear': a torn college sweatshirt and lemon yellow high school basketball shorts. Laurel and I'd met at an acquaintance's dinner party, and neither of us had known very many people there.
- My Pretty by Carley Moore in Poetry
My dumb heart thinks it knows something, but really its tick is all flounder and worry, wallow and sorry.
- A Conversation with Marion Winik by Lisa Lynne Lewis in Profiles
Marion Winik’s most recent memoir, Highs in the Low Fifties: How I Stumbled Through the Joys of Single Living, chronicles Winik’s return to the dating world and her experiences along the way.
- An Interview with Susie Bright by Heidi Raykeil in Profiles
Susie Bright is the national best-selling author and editor of eight books on sex and sexual politics. Her most recent work, Mommy's Little Girl: On Sex, Motherhood, Porn, and Cherry Pie, is a collection of personal essays written after the birth of her daughter.
- Single Mom Seeking: A Review of Single Mom Seeking: Play Dates, Blind Dates, and Other Dispatches from the Dating World by Suzanne Lafetra in Reviews
Rachel Sarah begins her memoir, Single Mom Seeking: Play Dates, Blind Dates, and Other Dispatches from the Dating World, this way: "My life was not supposed to look like this." At 28, with a 7-month-old daughter, Sarah finds herself suddenly single when her boyfriend Eric flies the coop. Lots of books may start from the single-mom premise, but Sarah delivers her story with humor, insight, lots of practical goodies, and a huge dose of honesty.