Brooklynite makes case for having and being an only child

Brooklyn-based writer Lauren Sandler will appear at BookCourt in Cobble Hill on June 11. Photo by Justin Lane

Brooklyn Eagle recently featured Lauren Sandler, a Brooklyn-based writer who grew up an only child and now is a mother of one. In her new book “One and Only: The Freedom of Having an Only Child, and the Joy of Being One” (Simon & Schuster, June 11), Sandler wholeheartedly explores the subject of having and being an only child, taking into account the largely misguided stigmas and stereotypes that are inextricably attached to only children. The author will appear at BookCourt in Cobble Hill on Tuesday, June 11, for a reading, audience Q&A, and book signing.

Sandler has spent a lifetime investigating the implications of raising a child without siblings, and while her book is rooted in her personal experience, she brings to her text a comprehensive and global view. Her analysis deflates myths about isolation and selfishness and examines the complex intersection of motherhood and modernity, addressing the larger societal costs of having multiple children.

Sandler writes with an inviting and self-aware humor; she begins her book by assuring her readers, “This is not a memoir, but to conform what’s expected of an only child, let me start with myself.” The chapter in which she unpacks the loneliness discourse is aptly titled “Rhymes with Only.”

Sandler also discusses how the increase of single-child families might positively impact our economy and environment, as well as overall happiness.

Sandler’s June 11 reading will begin at 7 p.m. BookCourt is located at 163 Court St. in Cobble Hill.
Lauren Sandler has written on cultural politics, religion, and inequality for Time, The Atlantic, Slate, and The New York Times. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.

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