When Ruth Dickson released her 1967 book Married Men Make the Best Lovers, it went off like a bombshell. Defenders of the "sanctity" of marriage rose up to dismiss her frank, innovative, thoroughly researched book. But why? Why cling to the broken ritual of marriage? What comfort is there in a crumbling institution held together by meaningless tradition and out of touch patriarchy?
In this thoughtful follow-up, Dickson examines marriage itself. As she explains, "It's no secret that the divorce rate is reaching astronomical proportions, yet nobody seems to do anything about the sole cause of divorce: marriage."
Expertly weaving historical research, personal anecdotes, and scalpel-sharp philosophy, Marriage Is a Bad Habit makes the case that a life without marriage is a life of freedom-a woman's freedom from male dominance and abuse, a man's freedom from female resentment and martyrdom. In this new world it's time for the sexes to find a new way of living together. Or, more specifically, a new way to live apart.
Sexier than Helen Gurley Brown, wittier than Xaviera Hollander, Ruth Dickson tells the truth, makes you laugh, gives you innovative ideas and thoughtful advice on how to navigate the tricky waters of true freedom of choice.

Ruth Dickson was a bestselling lightning rod for controversy and a reliable source of entertainingly contrarian opinions about marriage, love, sex, adultery, and how much any of these subjects had in common when she burst onto the publishing scene in the late 1960s. Among Dickson's titles are Married Men Make the Best Lovers, a survival manual for mistresses; Marriage Is a Bad Habit, an impassioned argument for unwedded bliss; and Now That You've Got Me Here, What Are We Going to Do?, which has been referred to as a "non-marriage manual."

She long ago lost count, but Dickson has lived in more than two hundred places on three continents but now calls Florida her (possibly temporary) home. Still going strong well into her eighties, Dickson recently published a new book, Life, Death, and Other Trivia: Outrageous Observations of a Wicked Old Broad, which includes many extracts from her blog.
Just in case you were born yesterday, Dickson is here to tell you that Sex in the City did not start with Carrie Bradshaw. Ruth Dickson was a writing and popularity rival for Helen Gurley Brown in Brown's heyday, right after the publication of Sex and the Single Girl. Current readers, given the perspective of time, will be best equipped to judge, which of the two was the better, smarter, and wittier writer.