Straus, Jillian 1973-

PERSONAL:

Born 1973. Education: Northwestern University, B.A., M.A.

ADDRESSES:

Agent—c/o Author Mail, Hyperion Editorial Department, 77 W. 66th St., 11th Fl., New York, NY 10023. E-mail—jillian@unhookedgeneration.com.

CAREER:

Writer and television producer. Worked in television production at ABC News; former producer for the Oprah Winfrey Show. Woodhull Institute for Ethical Leadership, fellow.

WRITINGS:

Unhooked Generation: The Truth about Why We're Still Single, Hyperion (New York, NY), 2006.

SIDELIGHTS:

Jillian Straus is an author and former television producer who, for eight years, produced theOprah Winfrey Show. In her first book, Unhooked Generation: The Truth about Why We're Still Single,Straus examines a topic that could have found a place on Winfrey's program: the inability of the younger generation of adults to find and maintain lasting romantic relationships. Focusing on interviews with one hundred single, heterosexual men and women aged eighteen to thirty-five, and on her personal experiences in relationships, Straus discovers "an almost universal desire for true love and commitment despite repeated failures at sustaining relationships," noted Library Journal reviewer Amanda Glasbrenner. This "unhooked generation," Straus states, faces seven distinct problems that impair their search for lasting love: An increased emphasis on career issues tends to keep singles focused on professional issues and away from places where singles can meet, and they are unwilling to sacrifice career advancement for personal pleasure; putting off marriage tends to make people less willing to compromise as they become used to having things their own way, thus creating more tension in a collaborative relationship; and media obsession with celebrities leads singles to form unrealistic expectations about marriage and relationships. Straus also comments on how new methods of meeting people, such as Internet hook-ups and speed-dating services, make it extremely easy to meet someone new, but also create an atmosphere in which singles always find themselves looking, even when they are in a stable and secure relationship.

Straus concludes that successful relationships cannot be sustained while one or both partners are keeping their options open and watching for the next available opportunity. Instead, "in order to open yourself to love … you have to commit all the way," as a Publishers Weekly contributor reported. As proof, Straus includes interviews with a number of happy, secure couples "who have forged strong relationships based on love, compromise, and realistic expectations," commentedBooklist reviewer Kristine Huntley. The Publishers Weekly critic declared Straus's volume a "perceptive book" written in a "lively style," while Huntley praised the work as "enlightening."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, February 15, 2006, Kristine Huntley, review of Unhooked Generation: The Truth about Why We're Still Single, p. 24.

Library Journal, January 1, 2006, Amanda Glasbrenner, review of Unhooked Generation, p. 139.

Publishers Weekly, November 28, 2005, review ofUnhooked Generation, p. 37.

ONLINE

Hyperion Books Web site,http://www.hyperionbooks.com/(July 20, 2006), brief biography of Jillian Straus.

Unhooked Generation Web site,http://www.unhookedgeneration.com(July 20, 2006).