Romance On The Pickleball Court: Book Looks At Love For Graying Adults

RESTON, VA — In the third season of her podcast Dating While Gray, Laura Stassi interviewed a couple called "Clyde" and "Trish," who met during a Reston Association-sponsored pickleball lesson.

Clyde had just gotten out of a second marriage and was traveling around the country in a minivan playing golf. Trish was also freshly divorced, following a difficult marriage that involved infidelity on her ex's part. Even though they weren't looking for romance, they found it playing pickleball and have been a couple for more than a year.

"Reston in particular, because we have such an active older community, is a great place to meet people," Stassi said. "If you're not meeting a romantic partner, you're certainly expanding your social circle. From a romance standpoint, you never know where that might lead. You never know who might know somebody."

On Monday, Stassi celebrated the release of her first book about dating among the older set: "Romance Redux: Finding Love in Your Later Years."

"After my marriage ended, I started looking into gray divorce and how people 50 and older were finding new romantic partners," she said. "I started interviewing people and writing stories about it and posted it on my own website."

Related: Podcast Explores Gray Love In The Time Of COVID

Stassi set aside the book when she launched the Dating While Gray podcast back in 2020 for WAMU in Washington, D.C. After the podcast's first successful 10-episode season was over, WUNC, the public radio station based in Durham, North Carolina, picked it up for a second season, which ended in May 2021.

While negotiating for a third season with WUNC, Stassi decided that if she were ever going to write a book that would be the perfect time to do it.

"There was so much audience enthusiasm," she said. "Every time a season ended, people would say, 'Hey, where are you? When are you coming back?' I knew that there was the appetite for this to be a year-long endeavor."

Related: Reston Woman Finds Love Is Still There For Those Over 50

Stassi described the book as a memoir, but also a collections of stories gleaned from interviews on and off the podcast.

"I've heard from a couple of readers of advance copies who say they love it, because it's very conversational in tone," Stassi said. "It sounds a lot like my podcast. So, if you enjoy hearing stories about people searching for love and finding it, but some of issues they face, some of the tricky things they navigate, this book is for you."

In addition to Clyde and Trish's story, the book contains a chapter about Stassi's own experience relocating to Reston. She also writes about how founder Robert E. Simon designed the community to serve people during all stages of their lives.

"Because we have so many trails, and we have the lakes, and we have a very active Reston Association, there are so many opportunities to meet other people," she said.

Those interested in picking up their own copy of "Romance Redux: Finding Love in Your Later Years" or in meeting Stassi should swing by the Scrawl Books in Reston on Thursday night. Stassi will be signing copies of her book starting at 6:30 p.m. The bookstore is located at 11911 Freedom Drive in Reston.