Single Wisdom

Reviewed by Robin Caldwell

Authors: Paris and Robert Williams

Cameo’s anthem or ode to singleness, The Single Life, rocked me to the dance floor back in the day.  We chanted the hook, “I’m livin’ the single, single life…,” even when the sad reality was the single life most of us lived was hardly as glamorous or meritorious as the single life depicted in those lyrics.

Missing from Cameo’s credo was a mention of the baggage most of us carry into the quest for lasting, true love.  It also failed to mention the pain. 

Paris and Robert Williams’ book, Single Wisdom: Empowering Singles, Divorcees, Widows & Widowers for Living (RP Publishing) addresses the often unglamorous and sensitive side of the single, Christian life.  Single Wisdom contains case studies extracted from the Williams’ vast work and research as relationship experts.  The names may have been changed but readers will recognize the stories either from experience or from the lives of friends and family.

Single Wisdom takes the best biblical instruction and marries it with practical advice to give single readers hope and healing for the journey.  The book melds the two to articulate ways beneficial to the never-married, divorced and widowed.

The Williams’s tackle delicate issues such as abuse and sexual conduct from a biblical perspective.  They state, “There is a direct relationship between our sinful nature and our sexual choices…We need to shift our perception and make an empowered lifestyle decision to be ruled by God’s written standard.”

Amen.

As the authors seek to inform based on fact in an empathetic tone, they are also big on personal accountability.  They write that the empowered single, “assumes responsibility for their personal decisions by learning how to choose freely from healthy alternatives after considering the consequences of their choices.” Single Wisdom neither placates nor pities.  Its greatest strength is in promoting singleness as a holy, righteous and honorable lifestyle filled with positive (and doable) choices.

Kudos to the Williams’s for downloading years of observations and wise counsel from their experience as counselors and as former singles.  These are two people, thank God, who haven’t forgotten the rugged terrains of being saved and single.  And they freely share excerpts from their lives with readers, which is appreciated.

Single Wisdom is chock-filled with personal and professional anecdotes, helpful checklists and assessment tools.  The book is also rich in supplemental resources.

However, some of Single Wisdom’s practical advice is arguable.  The authors suggest running credit histories and police checks on potential mates, which borders on the intrusive and is not very trusting of God.  Still, this is not enough to negate the value of the book’s total content.

Paris and Robert Williams have spent a professional lifetime gleaning the wisdom inherent in Single Wisdom.  For that reason alone, Single Wisdom is worthy of reading.

For more information on Paris and Robert Williams and Single Wisdom visit www.finner-williams.com.