Most of the theology here is solid. There were a few times when his application of Scripture seemed a bit off-base, and times when he seemed to emphasize his own opinion rather than the facts in the Bible, but these were about somewhat minor things.

I didn't like much of the book.

Allberry seemed like he didn't mind being single too much, and like he truly believes that singleness is better and easier than marriage. He kept contradicting himself on this point, saying neither is easier, then following it up by saying that he thinks singleness is actually easier. Huh?

He only briefly touches on the fact that the "single" life can look very different depending on whether one is divorced, widowed, or never married, and whether or not one has kids. He frequently compared singleness not just to marriage, but to parenthood, which just isn't a fair comparison. And quite frankly, it didn't seem like he wanted kids all that much and so it wasn't terribly painful for him to not have any.

Allberry is a pastor, and I think that's allowed him to have a social life that many singles don't get - it's part of his job to connect with people, so he doesn't have to work a "regular" job and then do all his socializing outside of that time.

I felt like he excused married people too much when he talked about community in the Church. Relationships in the Church should not be as one-sided as he seems to think is okay.

The writing is a bit wordy and repetitive. He uses phrases like, "We do xyz, we think abc," referring to all singles, and I pretty much never agreed with him, so that was annoying.

The best chapter was the last one, where he finally admits that being single can be really hard and painful. But his conclusion just seems… trite? pithy?

All in all, this one fell flat for me. I think at the root of why this didn’t resonate is because Allberry spent so much time trying to compare singleness to marriage that he didn't really reflect much on God and His part in singleness. ( )

A powerful book discussing a variety of unhealthy stereotypes that have been placed on Single Christians. The quote of the book: "If marriage shows us the shape of the gospel, singleness shows us its sufficiency". Alberry is like a physician to those who have been wounded by their singleness and shows how Scripture is a great comfort, not reprimand, to their state. Must read for all church members who constantly ask the question "So why aren't you married yet?" ( )

Forthcoming review on MR digital.