image of person or book cover 5316673674756010535.jpg
Image courtesy of publisher's website.
Issue Details: First known date: 2020... 2020 She I Dare Not Name : A Spinster's Meditations on Life
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'She I Dare Not Name 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. It 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.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Crows Nest, North Sydney - Lane Cove area, Sydney Northern Suburbs, Sydney, New South Wales,: Allen and Unwin , 2020 .
      image of person or book cover 5316673674756010535.jpg
      Image courtesy of publisher's website.
      Extent: 336p.
      Note/s:
      • Published March 2020.
      ISBN: 9781760876296

Other Formats

  • Large print.
  • Sound recording.

Works about this Work

NRB Readers’ Top 10 for 2020 2020 single work column
— Appears in: The Newtown Review of Books , December 2020;
Say's Who? Sailing Close to the Rocks of Self-Pity Jacqueline Kent , 2020 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , May no. 421 2020; (p. 41)

— Review of She I Dare Not Name : A Spinster's Meditations on Life Donna Ward , 2020 single work autobiography

'The confusing aspects of this book begin with the title, She I Dare Not Name. Instead, there is a whole book about this person, a self-described spinster. Then there’s the S-word itself, which has carried a heavy negative load since about the seventeenth century. (A minor irritation is the back-cover blurb, which describes this as ‘a book about being human’ – as distinct from being what?)' (Introduction)

I Own My Alone Miriam Cosic , 2020 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 14 March 2020; (p. 18)

— Review of She I Dare Not Name : A Spinster's Meditations on Life Donna Ward , 2020 single work autobiography
Donna Ward : She I Dare Not Name: A Spinster’s Meditations on Life Shelley McInnis , 2020 single work review
— Appears in: The Newtown Review of Books , March 2020;

— Review of She I Dare Not Name : A Spinster's Meditations on Life Donna Ward , 2020 single work autobiography

'Donna Ward’s memoir explores spinsterhood, solitude, and shattering stereotypes.'

Donna Ward : She I Dare Not Name Linda Jaivin , 2020 single work review
— Appears in: The Saturday Paper , 14-20 March 2020;

— Review of She I Dare Not Name : A Spinster's Meditations on Life Donna Ward , 2020 single work autobiography

'Donna Ward’s piano was stranded in the middle of her study. She’d pushed it out from one wall but couldn’t get it to the other side. Two friends, a couple, came to dinner. As they were leaving, they noticed the piano. “This is a time when you ask your friends to help,” they advised her – and left without helping. The anecdote of the marooned piano is a nutshell-sized metaphor for the life that Ward – a writer, publisher and psychotherapist – lives without husband or family. It was not her plan; she’d always hoped to find what she calls her “person”. Sometimes, despite all intention of making it to the other side of the room, a piano just gets stuck in the middle.'(Introduction)

Donna Ward : She I Dare Not Name Linda Jaivin , 2020 single work review
— Appears in: The Saturday Paper , 14-20 March 2020;

— Review of She I Dare Not Name : A Spinster's Meditations on Life Donna Ward , 2020 single work autobiography

'Donna Ward’s piano was stranded in the middle of her study. She’d pushed it out from one wall but couldn’t get it to the other side. Two friends, a couple, came to dinner. As they were leaving, they noticed the piano. “This is a time when you ask your friends to help,” they advised her – and left without helping. The anecdote of the marooned piano is a nutshell-sized metaphor for the life that Ward – a writer, publisher and psychotherapist – lives without husband or family. It was not her plan; she’d always hoped to find what she calls her “person”. Sometimes, despite all intention of making it to the other side of the room, a piano just gets stuck in the middle.'(Introduction)

Donna Ward : She I Dare Not Name: A Spinster’s Meditations on Life Shelley McInnis , 2020 single work review
— Appears in: The Newtown Review of Books , March 2020;

— Review of She I Dare Not Name : A Spinster's Meditations on Life Donna Ward , 2020 single work autobiography

'Donna Ward’s memoir explores spinsterhood, solitude, and shattering stereotypes.'

I Own My Alone Miriam Cosic , 2020 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 14 March 2020; (p. 18)

— Review of She I Dare Not Name : A Spinster's Meditations on Life Donna Ward , 2020 single work autobiography
Say's Who? Sailing Close to the Rocks of Self-Pity Jacqueline Kent , 2020 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , May no. 421 2020; (p. 41)

— Review of She I Dare Not Name : A Spinster's Meditations on Life Donna Ward , 2020 single work autobiography

'The confusing aspects of this book begin with the title, She I Dare Not Name. Instead, there is a whole book about this person, a self-described spinster. Then there’s the S-word itself, which has carried a heavy negative load since about the seventeenth century. (A minor irritation is the back-cover blurb, which describes this as ‘a book about being human’ – as distinct from being what?)' (Introduction)

NRB Readers’ Top 10 for 2020 2020 single work column
— Appears in: The Newtown Review of Books , December 2020;
Last amended 10 Nov 2020 15:03:33
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