Single Girls by John Searles

In 1965, Helen Gurney Brown began what would become her 32-year reign as the editor-in-chief for Cosmopolitan magazine. She had successfully published her book Sex and the Single Girl, which became a hit movie. She wanted to bring her advice to more women and sought to start a magazine. While she doesn’t receive a new one, her pitch does convince one conglomerate to give her a failing one. Along with her handpicked team of Single Girls, Helen manages to turn the magazine around after only three issues.

Helen certainly lived an interesting life, and you can’t deny the impact she had on America, especially on women during the 60’s and beyond. The author clearly states that this is a fictionalized version of her life, but considering he worked for her for two decades, I’m sure quite a bit of it is true. Personally, I found the author’s writing style a bit difficult to follow, as the point of view switched between the present and the past, sometimes multiple times on one page. This story wasn’t something I was really interested in, but if you enjoy Cosmopolitan, then I’m sure you will enjoy reading about Helen’s life.