“My Very Last Boyfriend,” is a light-hearted memoir written by Roanoke native Betty Cody Pence. The author describes it as “an airplane book,” meaning that it is small in size and easy to pack.
A reader describes it as “a book with a smile” which is accurate as readers will find in it her infectious sense of humor. Pence offers a view of America through the eyes of a spirited and fearless “girl” as women were proud to be called not so long ago.
At age 90, Pence continues to chart her own course. Her grace and professional ease were on display when she modeled winter fashions this past Christmas at a large gathering of Roanoke area women. In addition to a long and successful modeling career, she is an artist, a writer, and a former Madison Avenue ad-woman, who tells of writing the ad, “Hitch your car to a star,” which became “Hitch your wagon to a star” for Texaco in the 1940s.
Readers will enjoy the fun as the author takes them to proms and parties at Washington & Lee, Princeton, West Point and Annapolis, as well as events for U.S. sailors during World War II when she served as a volunteer for the Navy League in New York City. There is sadness, of course, but the tone of the book is not dark, but bright and forward looking.
“My Very Last Boyfriend” is available at Ram’s Head and Too Many Books. The price is $8.00 with $3.00 going to the Rescue Mission. The book, dedicated to her granddaughter, is a gift from the heart of Betty Pence to those who cherish their own memories of less cynical times and to those who wonder at them.