I submitted this to NPR’s “All Things Considered” at the behest of my Viking publicist, Lindsay (a goddess among young women), and they passed on this one but asked for another! So rather than having it go un-read, here it is!

I love it when my existence is validated by nothing less than the United States Census Bureau and the New York Times. In case you missed it, single women like me are now in the majority – comprising 51 percent of the population, compared to just 49 percent of women who live with their husbands.

Ozzie and Harriet must be spinning in their graves.

I, on the other hand, was elated to read the report. Hurrah- ammunition! The next time Aunt Prudence looks at me with pitying eyes because I am unmarried, I can turn it back on her.

“Don’t worry,” I shall whisper. “If you’re lucky, someday soon you and Uncle Joe will split! And you’ll know the joy of being in the bosom of the American majority.”

Of course, the news riled up the country’s conservative factions, who were quick to pronounce spinsters the IM-moral majority: selfish feminazis who, by rejecting marriage, are bent on destroying the moral fabric of our society. But I consider these numbers a clear sign that our society is finally realizing what I’ve known for years: that single life, while challenging, can be sweet indeed.

It’s an opinion honed by years of writing a column called Single Minded for the San Francisco Chronicle, which was all about la vida sola. I started the column on a trial basis; my editors were not at all sure I’d find a readership. But the response was overwhelming. In the course of writing the column, I heard thousands of stories from single readers about their lives.

One of my most avid fans was a woman in Marin County, a venture capitalist who at 45 had all but given up on the idea of marriage. And with her dream, went her self-esteem. “Thank God you’re in the paper!” she wrote. “I need advice. I’m so lonely. I need a husband.”

I gently suggested to her that if she just looked at her life and did a little tinkering – a new activity here, some volunteer work there – she might realize her life is richer than she imagined. Yet she remained unconvinced. After all, this is a marriage-obsessed culture, in which we’re bombarded by dozens of shows – from “The Bachelorette” to “Bridezillas” – devoted to the notion that marriage fixes everything.

Perhaps with this news, we can retire not just that old cliché, but several others as well. Most notably, the one about the sad spinster, eating ice cream with her cats and hoping for a salesman to knock on her door. Time to replace that image with one of a mature single woman taking up salsa dancing, mentoring younger women at work, running marathons.

I knew that this message had finally gotten across to my reader in Marin when she emailed me after a year or two to say thank you. “I started mountain biking, and going to Sierra Club Singles meetings,” she wrote. “And I met someone already. But the great thing is, even if it doesn’t lead to marriage, I’m not so afraid to be single. I don’t feel so alone.”

Not only is she not alone, she – and I - are in the majority now. Did we really need those Census numbers to validate our existence? Not really. But they’re still nice to have, when Aunt Prudence comes calling.

Hi folks - if you find yourself here it’s probably because you have picked up my spanking-new book, “Naked on the Page: the Misadventures of My Unmarried Midlife,” or are a fan of my former column in the San Francisco Chronicle. Either way, welcome to my very first official website and blog!

For years I’ve wondered who on earth has time and inclination to blog - creating writings that no one can be sure will even be SEEN, writings that no one gets PAID for. The answer, at least at this moment in time, is… ME. A journalist for 25 years who jumped off that speeding train five months ago, I no longer have the daily outlet of the San Francisco Chronicle to feed my jones for pontification. So here I am, with a website (janeganahl.com) that will promote me and my books - and blogging so that my website actually has something to SAY. (Amazing how many writers have websites that say nothing at all. How can they help themselves?)

I’m going to try to start this off by writing about the release of the book, and the response to it. And my feelings about it, of course. It’s already been a bit of a wild ride! A fabulous review in Publishers Weeky (see my website), great blurbs from other female authors, a decent one in Elle. I also have pitched a commentary to NPR and an essay to the NY Times Modern Love feature. And now, there is interest in the TV rights to my story!

My life: a sitcom. It’s come to this.

Fingers crossed that the book does well enough to pay Viking back for their advance and then some. I think my hopes hang on the fact that my audience (single women - especially those over 40) are avid readers who love to share their books. Who knows? My expectations are completely realistic, having known so many authors who have high hopes, only to see them dashed by poor sales. We shall see…

Meanwhile, I hope to record my thoughts here! Drop in from time to time…

Jane