THE SECRET SEX LIFE OF A SINGLE MOM

Chronicle of a stay-at-home mom's failed marriage and salacious experiments with online dating.

First-time Canadian author Moore garnered attention for her personal blog IAmDivorcedNotDead.com, which led to this book on the same subject. In her frank, conversational voice, the author reveals the intimate details she shared with her husband, Robert, whose infidelity she partly blames on her losing interest in sex with him. After years of feeling numb, Moore felt a strong attraction to her married acupuncturist, with whom she undertook a yearlong affair. In the middle of his divorce, Moore separated from Robert, only to discover that her acupuncturist had been cheating on her and would, within weeks, be the father of his other mistress' new baby. Moore, along with two girlfriends whose marriages were on the rocks, threw herself into online dating and casual encounters. Her ensuing adventures included a visit to a swingers' club, explicit e-mail exchanges with, among others, a man who demands that she reports all of her sexual escapades (she consents), and many experiments with dominant lovers. She did not enter a committed relationship with any of them, choosing instead to bask in her newfound sexual liberation. The title, however, isn't technically true, since Moore is upfront about her conquests and pleasurable exploits, as well as, for the bulk of the book's action, still legally married. Her extreme honesty is engaging, but the seemingly endless stream of sexual details eventually blunts both the reader's attention and appetite to continue reading.

The literary equivalent of frozen yogurt—neither rich nor healthy, and not particularly filling.