Saskatchewan-based author and University of Saskatchewan graduate Maria Boehm is set to release her dating-memoir book titled Dating Tom, Dick and Harry.

Maria Boehm’s memoir recounts her dating life for over 15 years.

Boehm attended the U of S, receiving her bachelor’s in education in 1994 and then her master’s in 2011, and she now works as a teacher, living north of Prince Albert. She wrote Dating Tom, Dick and Harry under a pen name in order to protect the identities of the 17 men she describes in her book, which includes very personal details over the course of 15 years of her life.

The release of her book took place at McNally Robinson on Oct. 19, where she also read sections of the book, and since then, Dating Tom, Dick and Harry is now available for purchase. Boehm gave a short description of her book.

“I probably was one of those people that dated a lot, more than anybody I knew. I was quite ridiculously into trying to find Mr. Right. I just thought a few years after this flurry of dating, I thought I should write some of these stories down as kind of a way to process all of this and then I decided to publish it,” Boehm said.

Boehm also gave some insight into why she sat down to write the book — which she started 12 years ago — citing that it began as a personal journey.

“At the time I was still single [and] thinking, ‘Why have I dated so much and what does this all mean? What did I learn from this? … Why was I so adamant about finding a partner?’ A lot of people want to find a partner but it seemed that I was a little bit overboard,” Boehm said.

However, now that she is releasing her book many years after setting out on this journey, Boehm finds herself in a different place in life as compared to when she began.

“Now my life is very different. I’m married [and] I have a little boy and I’m very out of that scene. My life is completely different now and I can kind of see why that was such an urge to be a mother and to be a wife; to be a mother, that is a huge joy that I think is biological in us to want to get to that point,” Boehm said.

When she set out to write her dating memoir, Boehm did not have publishing it in mind. However, with some distance from the events, she believes that her stories would be of appeal to others.

“I just thought maybe it would appeal to other people who are in the dating scene. The dating scene is exciting, it’s fun, but it’s also emotionally a hard time. Lots of tears, lots of disappointments, so I thought maybe it could appeal to other people,” Boehm said.

In addition to this, Boehm gave some advice for those still trying to make it in the dating scene.

“I would just say to just trust yourself, trust your instincts and to enjoy the process. Everyone who comes into your life — there’s a reason for it, there’s something to learn from it. Even good or bad experiences, you can learn something from [them]. It’s kind of a gift to get to know people, but be relaxed about it. If they don’t stay in your life there’s a reason for it,” Boehm said.

Boehm also shared how she views love after having delved into her dating history for the book.

“I think throughout writing all of this, I realized that love is something that you always have. We all have it inside of us or it’s kind of in the universe, however you want to say it, but it’s always there. We don’t have to try so hard to find it. We can have that peace knowing that we are loved and things will turn out,” Boehm said.

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Jack Thompson / Staff Writer

Image: Maria Boehm / Supplied