Here you are, suddenly single. Your long-time girlfriend finally tires of your insatiable need to alphabetize. Your wife walks out after years of you cheating on her with the Tampa Bay Bucs. Maybe you got tired of slipping on the panties she leaves lying on the bedroom floor.

Whatever the cause, it’s daunting to be single after years of sedentary monogamy. When it’s time to date again, to jump back on that pony, you’ll soon discover that the rules of the game have changed.

Most books about re-enlisting in the dating corps seem to be addressed to women, but Judith Sills’ Getting Naked Again (Springboard, $24.99) has adaptable wisdom for us all.

She uses that central theme – nudity, both physical and psychological – as the entry point for her book. Maybe you have small children, which makes dating again an emotional minefield about the suddenly insecure little ones. Maybe your kids are teen-agers and now you’re trying to do what you’re telling them not to do. When your kids reach a certain age and see you struggle in relationships, it’s an odd about-face when they start giving their parents dating advice. And there's always the satisfaction that comes with knowing that your dating life kicks the ass of your kid's dating life.

This article appears in Mar 11-17, 2009.