The book is perfect, or very close. She I Dare Not Name is a rollercoaster ride, like life, that takes us deep into a woman's experience. It enriched me, leaving me with much to think about. Donna is frank and generous, analytical in a way that makes her story our story . . . and any human will find themself in there.
-Susan Wyndham, author and former literary editor at the Sydney Morning Herald
Astonishing. Luminous. A book about being human.
She I Dare Not Name: A spinster's meditations on life is a compelling collection of fiercely intelligent, deeply intimate, lyrical reflections on the life of a woman who stands on the threshold of two millennia. Both manifesto and confession, this moving memoir explores the meaning and purpose Donna Ward has discovered in a life lived entirely without a partner and children.
The book describes a life lived on the edge of a world built in the shape of couples and families. Rippling through these pages is the way a spinster, or a bachelor, or any of us for that matter, contends with the prejudice and stigma of being different.
With courage and astounding honesty Donna uncovers the challenge of living with more solitude than anticipated and what it is like to walk the road through midlife and beyond alone. And she reveals how she found home and discovered herself within it.
Funny, sharp, wise and wry, She I Dare Not Name shows how reading saved this spinster's life, and how friends and writing and walking bring a contentment and sense of achievement Donna never thought possible.
