Vow to self: Why one woman married herself

Stuff co.nz 4 June 2016
Family First Comment: Heard of “sologamy”? Oh you will – and probably soon……
“Right now in our western society there have never been more alternatives to the once traditional relationship model – that of the heterosexual couple heading up the family unit – and people are openly choosing from a much wider range of models to find happiness. There are many examples of people whose chosen route might previously have caused them to be marginalised from conventional society, and author Sophie Tanner, from Brighton in the UK is one such person. Sophie chose to become a sologamist, which means she married herself….
“In a way it has revealed to me who my true friends and family are. I was most gratified by the positive support from the majority of them – my father didn’t bat an eyelid when I asked him to give me away.”

Right now in our western society there have never been more alternatives to the once traditional relationship model – that of the heterosexual couple heading up the family unit – and people are openly choosing from a much wider range of models to find happiness.
There are many examples of people whose chosen route might previously have caused them to be marginalised from conventional society, and author Sophie Tanner, from Brighton in the UK is one such person. Sophie chose to become a sologamist, which means she married herself.
It all began when she wrote a book on the subject. “I had just had a bad break-up and was emerging from my cocoon of sadness to find with relief that my generally optimistic personality had returned. At the time I was trying to write a really dark novel but it was depressing subject matter so I decided to scrap it and write about something that was positive, about a girl who decides to marry herself.”
Tanner’s novel Happily tells the story of a young woman, who one summer evening, after being told that she will never know what love is until she has children, decides to say ‘Actually, I do know what love is, and… I do!’ and announces to her friends that she’s going to marry herself…
“The more I investigated the concept of self-marriage the more intrigued I became, and the story of Chloe – who has similar characteristics to myself – slowly emerged. I tapped into a lot of my own experiences and relationships as inspiration and wove them into the tapestry of Chloe’s life. It was quite therapeutic. And most of the characters are an amalgamation of lots of different people I have met in my life. By the time I finished the novel it had been such a wonderful journey that I decided to go ahead and marry myself as a gesture of solidarity to my character Chloe, and to myself.”
READ MORE: http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/love-sex/80682819/vow-to-self-why-one-woman-married-herself