Six months into my retreat, I got a call from Tina Brown. She had a story idea for me. Now that the appropriate time had passed since my divorce, I should throw myself back into the dating world and write about what it was like to be dating over fifty. I could do internet dating. I could hire a matchmaker . . . I cut her off. I don't think so. I wasn't ready to start dating. But most of all, I didn't want to. I'd been in relationships for nearly thirty-five years. I'd even experienced the full relationship cycle -- fall in love, get married, and get divorced. And now I was supposed to do it all over again? Was engaging in the relationship cycle the only thing I could do with my life? I thought about that good old definition of crazy: Doing the same thing over and over again and hoping for a different result. It was time to put an end to the cycle. And so I decided for the first time in thirty-four years, to be man-free. This also meant being sex-free. At this point in my life, I'm not a casual sex person. I didn't talk about it, of course. The topic of sex, once the source of so much amusement, embarrassment, fear and joy, rarely came up. My single friends had been single forever and not dating and therefore not getting any, while my married friends were married and dealing with kids and also -- I imagined -- not getting any. Excerpted from Is There Still Sex in the City? by Candace Bushnell All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.