Growing up, Meghan Keane always assumed she would meet the love of her life at some point. Definitely by the time she hit 30. Then 30 came and went.
She wondered if she was doing something wrong; was it her fault she was still single?
Keane told KCUR's Up To Date that she realized her perceptions of romantic love were harmful to her wellbeing during the pandemic, when she was no longer able to use dating as a distraction.
"We're conditioned to want a partnership, to strive for marriage, but as soon as we don't have that at an 'appropriate age,' we're told to feel bad," Keane says.
Keane, who is the creator and managing producer of the NPR self-improvement podcast Life Kit, was tried of feeling the shame that society puts on singles to be "a certain way." So she decided to write a book about it.
In "Party of One: Be Your Own Best Life Partner," Keane myth-busts modern societal notions of marriage and romantic partnerships. Paired with illustrations by NPR Art Director LA Johnson, Keane also gives readers the tools to live their best single life.
"We all can feel good about the life that we have in front of us. We're not in a waiting room to then get into a relationship," Keane says. "We all deserve to feel good about ourselves right now, no matter what our relationship status might be."
- Meghan Keane, creator and managing producer of NPR's Life Kit
