Middle-Age Confidential: My Life As a Date; This Could Be a True Story!

By Sunny Chanel and Shirley Goldberg

What begins as a few man meets turns into the date-a-hundred-men contest the very year Sunny Chanel (middle-aged and long-married) leaves her husband. There?s lots more scary stuff like return

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 141969264X
• ISBN13: 9781419692642
• Release Date: September 2008
• Publisher: Createspace Independent Pub
• Length: 440 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.0" x 1.3" x 5.5"

Customer Reviews

Essential for middle-age daters!

This is a remarkable book, filled with wonderful romantic moments that don't always work out the way you want them to. But this book gives us the full story on what we go through when we start dating in middle age, and how the whole scene is nothing like what we might have imagined it to be. I see this as a Frommer's Guide to the entire experience, so if you are anticipating dating or dating already, you'll find this a great place to catch up on reality.

Loved the humor and honesty

The thing about Middle Age Confidential: My Life as a Date is how much the character's experience is like dating these days. Because I've done it, that is, dated a lot on the internet, I wanted to read this book and I was glad I did. Not only does it have its hilarious moments, it shows the angst of online meetings, especially when it comes to connecting with a stranger you may have very little in common with. I'll admit we all want to find someone handsome (or pretty). At this point in life, we'd settle for a guy/woman with a decent job who can laugh at our jokes and keep us company on those cold winter evenings. What makes the story work is the voice of the main character, her sense of the absurd, and her ability to laugh at herself. Who else would have a positive take and a rather good time with a date who weighs over 300 pounds and has kept that little detail a secret? The main character, Sunny Chanel, is brutally honest with herself, and that isn't easy. It isn't easy to keep going when your heart's broken either. I don't want to spoil too much by giving away the plot--personally, I don't like reading reviews that tell too much about the storyline. I want to mention, though, that it really gets up my nose, the kind of movie where the main character gets dumped and almost immediately meets someone new. Not just someone new, but a superior someone new, a lawyer or physician with a heartwarming personality and a big fat wallet. I could name a few movie titles, but this is a book review, and Middle Age Confidential has none of that.

Dating Is "Difficult" at Best

The main character of this novel, Sunny Chanel, meets man after man and man, and oh, man, what a crew. These guys just don't get it. Like the men you meet in YOUR real dating life or on the internet, they haven't got a clue, no matter how old they are, no matter how long they were married. Yup. Dating doesn't get any easier when you're older. This is the real life picture of how it is dating after divorce. It's the whole numbers game thing, where you'll probably have to meet and make nice with dozens of men before (if you're lucky) you hit upon one you can enjoy dinner with--much less breakfast. Read it because the Sunny character is funny and smart and dumb all at once, sort of an older Bridget Jones the second time around. She has the same vulnerability and maybe that's what I related to in the end. It's not just about dating. We're all trying to do the best we can--in our jobs, with our friends, in our lives. And it ain't easy.

Clever and poignant. A quick read.

How do you know he's the one or she's the one is something my girlfriend and I have great discussions about. That's probably why I picked up her copy of this novel and read it cover to cover in two days. Like many men and women of mid-life, I've done my share of Internet dating, real life dating, and everything in between. I'm one of those guys who analyzes everything, just like the main character. I've done it all, just like the main character. I've got my doubts, I'm never sure if she's The One, just like the main character in this novel. Dating these days takes a thick skin, a strong stomach, and not taking it personally, which is almost impossible. All I can say is this book lays it all out and I LOL'd at some of the meets that rang a few bells in my head. This may be what's called *chic lit* I don't know, I'm no expert. What I do know is that I've been dating a long, long time and it's brutal out there, whether you're a man or a woman trying to connect with someone in a meaningful way. This book gave me a perspective on the woman's point of view, not that I was seeking it. At least it wasn't lecture-y. It was entertaining to the max. She does what so many of us are forced to do these days, start over from scratch after a divorce. It's funny because I too, went back to school to become a certified teacher, so I can relate on many levels. There were times when I thought I'd never have sex again either, or I kept meeting people (women, in my case), who just weren't interested or interesting to me. If you're in the toilet after a divorce or even a fight, pick up this book and go to it--I'm not the biggest reader, mostly I read nonfiction, and this book was just what I needed.

Divorced? Dating? Read this novel and laugh, 'cause dating doesn't get any funnier.

I'll say it upfront. This novel gives the real scoop on internet dating. It's funny, sad, and joyous, all at once. I saw me in there. I saw my friends, male and female. Confession time. I've been internet dating for over five years. OK, over seven years. Has it really been that long? Does anyone out there who's never done it know what it's like? Well, Sunny Chanel, the main character of this well-paced hilarious read knows. She really really knows and she lets it all hang out. There are tons of books on divorce, starting over, meeting jerks, and analyzing every conversation, nuance, and each date gone wrong in order to do better the next time. But, there is nothing like this book, because this is internet dating--when you know there's another guy around the corner, and another and another. Sunny's got a contest going--has to meet 100 guys in a year. Sounds dumb, but that's the reality of this world of internet dating. It's a numbers game, so the more men you meet, the bigger the chance you have of finding someone you connect with. This story reads like a fictional memoir and I don't know if there is any such thing, but I saw myself in so many of these situations, I kept underlining so I could go and tell my girlfriends. If you've been "out there" after a divorce, you know it's tough, it's a roller coaster, and it doesn't get easy just because you're middle-aged. There's agony and very little ecstasy. Sunny is no complainer. She had the husband who looked through her so her leaving him is long overdue. She has to go back to school, live with roommates, and find a job teaching. It was a relief to me to read about a character who had a job that's not in the glamour industry like so many of the *chick lit* books. And although this novel is written in a breezy style (I wouldn't call it chick lit.), that made it hard to put aside, there's a lot to think about, at least for those of us who're struggling, wondering if we're destined to meet someone special. No, I won't give the ending away, except to say that I found it very satisfying. This is my first review. I'd love to hear from other reviewers who have books like this one to recommend. I will do likewise.