Roanoke College Grad does '31 Dates in 31 Days'; Finds a Keeper

Tamara Duricka Johnson

A 1998 Roanoke College graduate named Tamara Duricka Johnson appears to have hit paydirt with her first book, 31 Dates in 31 Days (Seal Press, $17).

The book looks at a one-month dating project that led to her marriage to Evan Johnson, the first guy from the crowded field she dated for a second time.

Johnson, who worked in TV for 12 years (most recently as a writer at “Good Morning America”) finished in three years at Roanoke College with two majors and earned her master’s degree in journalism from Columbia.

Johnson had a number of bad dating experiences and those led to the experiment. Egged on by her family and friends, she went on a date a day for 31 days, none costing more than $31. Johnson’s second date with Evan, fell on the 31st day of the project and a year later they got married.

She blogged about the adventure and that led to the book. She calls it “the book I needed as a single person to keep myself in check.”