The Wild Oats Project : One Woman's Midlife Quest for Passion at Any Cost

What if for just one year you let desire call the shots? The project was simple: Robin Rinaldi, a successful magazine journalist, would move into a San Francisco apartment, join a dating site, and get laid. Never mind that she already owned a beautiful flat a few blocks away, that she was forty-four, or that she was married to a man she'd been in love with for eighteen years. What followed—a year of abandon, heartbreak, and unexpected revelation—is the topic of this riveting memoir, The Wild Oats Project . Monogamous and sexually cautious her entire adult life, Rinaldi never planned on an open marriage—her priority as she approached midlife was to start a family. But when her husband insisted on a vasectomy, something snapped. If I'm not going to have children , she told herself, then I'm going to have lovers . During the week, she would live alone, seduce men (and women), attend erotic workshops, and have wall-banging sex. On the weekends, she would go home and be a wife. Her marriage provided safety and love, but she also needed passion, and she was willing to go outside her marriage to find it.At a time when the bestseller lists are topped by books about eroticism and the shifting roles of women, this brave, brutally honest memoir explores how our sexuality defines us, how it relates to maternal longing, and how we must walk the line between loving others and staying true to ourselves. Like the most searing memoirs, The Wild Oats Project challenges our sensibilities, yielding truths that we all can recognize but that few would dare write down. "What if for just one year you explored everything you'd wondered about sex but hadn't tried? The project was simple: An attractive, successful magazine journalist, Robin Rinaldi, would move into a San Francisco apartment, join a dating site, and get laid. Never mind that she already owned a beautiful flat a few blocks away, that she was forty-four, or that she was married to a man she'd been in love with for eighteen years. What followed--a year of sex, heartbreak, and unexpected revelation--is the topic of this riveting memoir, The Wild Oats Project. An open marriage was never one of Rinaldi's goals--her priority as she approached midlife was to start a family. But when her husband insisted on a vasectomy, she decided that she could remain married only on her own terms. If I can't have children, she told herself, then I'm going to have lovers. During the week she would live alone, seduce men (and women), attend erotic workshops, and partake in wall-banging sex. On the weekends, she would go home and be a wife. At a time when the bestseller lists are topped by books about eroticism and the shifting roles of women, this brave memoir explores how our sexuality defines us--and it delivers the missing link: an everywoman's account of sex. Combining the strong literary voice of Cheryl Strayed's Wild with the adventurousness of Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love, The Wild Oats Project challenges our sensibilities and evokes the delicate balance between loving others and staying true to oneself"-- Provided by publisher. "A memoir of one woman's year of an open marriage, during which she explored everything she'd ever wondered about sex but hadn't tried"-- Provided by publisher. A Memoir Of One Woman's Year Of An Open Marriage, During Which She Explored Everything She'd Ever Wondered About Sex But Hadn't Tried-- Machine Generated Contents Note: Pt. One Death Of The Good Girl -- 1.the Threshold -- 2.refugee (sacramento) -- 3.the Leap -- 4.wife (philadelphia) -- 5.the Return -- 6.madonna (san Francisco) -- 7.the Epiphany -- 8.whore -- Pt. Two The Wild Oats Project -- 9.mission Dolores -- 10.nerve -- 11.onetaste -- 12.eight Days -- 13.glory Road -- 14.the Writer -- 15.sanchez Street -- 16.south Of Market -- 17.solitude In Motion -- 18.orgasmic Meditation -- 19.yin And Yang -- 20.golden Gate -- 21.the Women's Circle -- 22.the Commune -- 23.infinite Games -- 24.girl On Girl On Boy -- 25.the Other Woman -- 26.the End Of The Bucket List -- Pt. Three House Of Shadow And Desire -- 27.the Crash -- 28.the Aftermath -- 29.the Broken Heart -- 30.the Message -- 31.the Master Of Polarity -- 32.the Brutal, Slippery Truth -- 33.the Crossroads -- 34.the New Year. Robin Rinaldi. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.