MARRY SMART

The “Princeton mom” who caused a stir with her controversial letter to the Daily Princetonian offering advice to young women about marrying early delivers more unvarnished truths in this smart, straightforward, and witty book of life lessons.

“Forget about having it all, or not having it all, leaning in or leaning out,” she wrote to undergraduate women at Princeton. “Here’s what you really need to know that nobody is telling you…find a husband on campus before you graduate. Yes, I went there.”

Now, in MARRY SMART, Patton goes even further (with the benefit of hindsight) to give women everywhere the advice they need about marriage, motherhood, and happiness. It is a book of savvy advice mixed with anecdotes, recipes, and above all, a keen sense of humor.

Patton covers topics such as college hook-up culture, how to spot a Good Boy, why it’s harder for smarter girls to date, how to maintain respect for yourself through all the nonsense, and much more.

Aimed at college girls and graduates, this book has tips and life lessons for women everywhere who haven’t found a partner yet or are struggling to decide when it’s the right time for Mr. Right, or for whom Mr. Right has gone wrong. As unerringly honest as Amy Chua’s Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, as practical as Steve Harvey’s Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man, and infused with Patton’s tell-it-like-it-is, homey charm, Marry Smart contains old-fashioned wisdom for a modern generation of women.

Susan Patton is a first-generation American and was in one of the first classes of women to graduate from Princeton in 1977. She is a first-time author, a human resources consultant, and an executive coach in New York City. She is the proud mother of two Princeton sons, a daughter-in-law who also graduated from Princeton, and a long-haired red dachshund named Lucille.