Rating: 
Summary: Keep On Drummin' Stacy!
Review: The comments I feel like making about this book are actually for Miss (she loves "Miss") Horn alone, but I'd like to be counted in the parade of praise here, so I'll say a few things.First, I absolutely love a humorous presentation of a hopeless situation; I think it makes my emotions work in multiple ways at the same time, gives an added dimension to the material and really tickles me just the right way. I'm forty-something, no men in sight and share Tracy's hopeless situation. That makes her story all the more personal and, hence, more hysterical. Second, I see Tracy as a new voice describing a social trend, not a forty-something, unmarried woman complaing about her lot. Tracy is bright, interesting, charming and she could have a relationship/marriage if she wanted one, and she actually says this in her own words. Look around, there are a lot of disireable woman who are single simply BECAUSE THEY CAN BE. Women who WON'T SETTLE for an unfullfilling relationship when social pressure to be "coupled" has eased, and the economic necessity of marriage has certainly dissapeared. Tracy deals with the unsolved aspect of this situation, the emotional one. Single, but still needing to connect and express love, what happens to those emotions? Enter the cats. Some may not agree with me, some may say this is principally a memoir about midlife...that, however, I see as the mark of a truly good book, that each of us readers finds a theme that resonates personally. For me, Tracy Horn is a new voice that chronicles a social trend, and hearing that voice, and the (faint) other ones, makes me feel not so crazy, not so alone. The book selections that should have been paired with Waiting for My Cats to Die are things like The Improvised Woman: Single Women Reinventing Single Life, by M. Clements, and others like it. There is a website called Scholars fo Single Woman Network, run by a professor, Bella M. DePaulo. Would be nice if this was more of a "community" we could all share.
Rating:
Summary: Cat Lovers Must Read this
Review: When I was approaching 30, a few years back, I was an emotional wreck. I was depressed that I was single with no prospective mate, I was scared of aging, I was terrified of losing my parents (who were in perfectly good health), terrified of my own health someday failing, etc. In a nutshell, I was scared to die. I kept thinking that if I live to be 90 years old, and my 30th birthday is near, then technically speaking I am starting the middle one-third of my life and therefore: I am Middle Aged. Yes, a weird thought, but mine. In an unrelated incident, I also have this cat, Fred, that I am absolutely in love with. Fred has some very special nicknames, like BuggyButt (don't ask), BellyBoy, Mushy, etc. I would think of losing him someday and, well let's just say when you hug a cat tight enough he can squeak. I saw Stacy on the Today show plugging her book and explaining how and why she came to research and write the book. Seeing that her and I shared some neuroses, I decided to buy the book. Very good choice. Self help comes in many forms, and is the most helpful when you are not seeking it. I was not expecting to find such a kindred spirit when I purchased this book. So many times during the reading, I found myself laughing through tears saying to myself, "I am not alone". If you are like me, it will be a quick read, front to back in less than a day, because you will not be able to put it down. Gracias Stacy Horn, I am on my third time reading it and still laughing through the tears.
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